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GUNNISON 


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SAN  JUAN 


A    l.ATK    AM)    HKUAlSLr.    DESCRIPTION    <)I      1  1 1  \: 


AY<>XDERi-TL    GOLD    AND    SILVER    BELTS    AND    IKON    AND    COAL 
FII-:LDS  OK   THAT  FEWEST  AND  BEST    LAND 
PROSPECTOR  AND  CAPITALIST, 


SOUTHWESTERN  COLORADO? 


As   rni-:xi-:\'Ti-:i>  ix  A  XKIUES  OF  LKTTI-: us  WniTTKX  TO   THE 

Yo/lK    \YoilLl)''    IiV   ITS    Xl>/:c/AL     CUUIIESI'OXDKNT,     "  R.     E. 


Al.S-O,    C(>.\  lAIMNC     A    VAI.rAlil.K    Al'l'LM'lX     o.N     .M  I  M  \  (  ,     \.\\\ 


I»I»EXDIX    ON     MlXIXlJ    L 

WLAND, 


NT. 
vvay,   N.  Y. 


18:31. 


GUNNISON 


AM) 


SAN  JUAN. 


A  LATE  AND  RELIABLE  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  WONDERFUL  GOLD  AND 

SILVER  BELTS  AND  IRON  AND  COAL  FIELDS  OF  THAT  NEWEST 

AND  BEST  LAND  FOR  PROSPECTOR  AND  CAPITALIST, 


SOUTHWESTERN  COLORADO; 


WITH   FACTS   ON    CLIMATE,    SOIL,    FORESTS,   SCENERY,    GAME,    FISH, 

CITIES,  TOWNS,  POPULATION,  DEVELOPMENT,  ROUTES,  RATES 

OF  FARE,  EMPLOYMENT,  WAGES,  LIVING  EXPENSES,  ETC., 


As  PRESENTED  IN  A  SERIES  OF  LETTERS  WRITTEN  TO  THE  "NEW 
YORK  WORLD"  BY  ITS  SPECIAL  CORRESPONDENT,  "  R.  E.  S."' 


ALSO,  CONTAINING  A  VALUABLE  APPENDIX  ON  MINING  LAWS. 


OMAHA: 

THE  NEW  WEST  PUBLISHING  COMPANY. 
OMAHA  REPUBLICAN  PIUNT. 

1881 


"THE  NEWEST  MARYEL." 

"  GUNNISON,  the  newest  marvel  of  that  land  of  marvels,  Colorado,  is  for  the 
first  time  clearly  and  intelligently  described  in  to-day's  WORLD.  This  letter  is 
the  first  of  a  series  which  will  be  written  for  THE  WORLD  by  a  correspondent 
whose  initials  will  be  a  guarantee  to  readers  at  all  acquainted  with  the  general 
subject  of  mining  in  Colorado  both  of  his  competency  and  impartiality.  Lead- 
ville  itself  has  not  seen  so  rapid  and  bewildering  a  transition  from  a  wilderness 
to  a  city  as  that  which  in  the  lapse  of  much  less  than  a  twelvemonth  has  been 
witnessed  at  Gunnison.  And  the  special  feature  of  these  impromptu  settle- 
ments is  that  they  are  made  to  last,  and  are  indeed  not  for  a  day  but  for  all 
time."—  New  York  World  Editorial,  Sept.  7,  1880. 


COPYBIGHT    1881  BY  J.  W.  MORSE. 


80  51 


THE  GUNNISON  COUNTRY. 


FIRST  LETTER— HISTORY,  TOMOGRAPHY  AND  A  GLANCE  AT  PRESENT 

DEVELOPMENTS. 

GUNNISON,  COLORADO,  Aug.  25,  1880. 

The  Gunnison  country  may  well  be  termed  "our  newest  West."  This,  too, 
in  face  of  the  fact  that  its  entire  eastern  boundary  lies  within  twenty  miles  of 
districts  which  have  been  important  producers  of  the  precious  metals  for  from 
twelve  to  twenty  years.  Next  door  to  civilization,  easy  of  access,  fairly  safe 
and  open  to  development  as  it  now  is,  and  promising  to  be  the  El  Dorado  of 
1881,  it  deserves  such  fragments  of  history  as  we  can  at  this  period  gather.  In 
the  early  days  of  Rocky  Mountain  exploration  this  whole  region  was  vaguely 
defined  as  "the  Grand  River  Country,"  its  noblest  stream,  now  called  Gunnison, 
being  then  known  as  the  South  Fork  of  the  Grand.  Our  earliest  tangible 
know  ledge  of  the  geography  and  probable  utility  comes  from  Governor  Wm. 
Gilpin,  who  in  1845,  a  mere  stripling,  returned  from  Oregon  to  St.  Louis, 
crossing  its  entire  length  from  west  to  east.  Crossing  Southern  Utah  by  one 
of  the  old  Spanish  trails  his  course  then  lay  through  the  valleys  of  the  South 
Fork  of  the  Grand  and  Uncompaghre  rivers,  thence  over  Cochetopa  Pass,  at 
the  south-eastern  rim  of  the  Gunnison  country,  and  thence  to  Bent's  old  fort 
on  the  Arkansas.  He  was  enthusiastic  in  his  description  of  the  valleys  and  the 
country  generally,  and  although  pursued  at  intervals  for  100  miles  by  savages, 
embodied  his  knowledge  in  a  map  which  is  now  on  exhibition  at  the  Executive 
office,  Denver. 

The  interval  between  1845  and  1853  only  records  vague  stories  from  trap- 
pers and  Mormons — the  former  boasting  of  the  region  as  an  ideal  game-field 
and  of  the  riches  in  certain  almost  inaccessible  gulches,  and  the  latter  taking 
care  to  let  the  world  know  only  what  dangers  were  threatened  by  savages. 
This  last  claim  \\as  well  supported,  or  the  Mormon  crime  speciously  covered, 
when  in  1853  Captain  Gunnison's  name  was  given  the  region  at  the  expense  of 
his  life.  -  While  exploring  in  this  vicinity  that  year  for  a  Pacific  railroad  route 
he  was  killed — history  says  by  Indians,  but  subsequent  developments  point  to 
the  Mormons  as  the  murderers.  In  1854  the  indomitable  old  "Pathfinder," 
General  Fremont,  passed  over  nearly  th*i  same  country  from  east  to  west,  but 
even  his  glowing  tributes  to  the  beauty  and  richness  of  the  region  did  not 
serve  to  bridge  the  seven-year  gap  which  ensued  with  tales  of  genuine  pioneering. 

THE  WASHINGTON  GULCH  MASSACRE. 

Not  until  1861,  when  some  prospectors  who  approached  from  California 
Gulch  (where  Leadville  now  stands)  and  named  Washington  Gulch,  Taylor 
Park,  Rentz's  Gulch  and  Union  Park,  near  the  head  of  Slate  River,  was  there 
any  positive  development.  Such  discoveries  as  they  made  created  considerable 


4:  GUNNISON    AND    SAN    JUAN. 

excitement,  and  under  ordinary  circumstances  would  have  led  to  a  genuine 
stampede  and  permanent  occupation  of  the  country,  but  one  morning  of  the 
summer  named  twelve  men  who  were  riding  along  the  Washington  Gulch  trail 
were  killed  by  Indians.  This  wholesale  massacre,  which  gave  a  gloomy  side 
defile  the  name  of  Dead  Man's  Gulch,  sent  a  thrill  of  terror  through  every  in- 
coming prospector.  The  outrage  was  magnified  each  time  its  story  wasrepeat- 
(d,  and  the  result  was  an  almost  entire  abandonment  of  the  country  by  the 
whites.  Not  even  the  stories  of  "  pound  diggings,"  of  golden  bullets  that  the 
Indians  used,  t.nd  of  the  famous  "  Snow-Blind  Gulch"  along  the  Cochetopa, 
where,  it  was  currently  believed,  two  miners  whip-sawed  boards  for  flumes  and 
washed  out  a  pound  of  gold  each  per  day,  and  finally,  when  the  snows  of  1862 
fell,  becoming  snow-blind,  they  perished  an  easy  prey  to  savages  or  storm — not 
even  these  lured  the  most  daring  in  the  then  populous  gulches  of  Central  Col- 
orado to  exploration.  I  have  had  "  Snow-Blind  Gulch"  pointed  out  to  me  near 
the  headwaters  of  the  Tomicbi,  with  its  traces  of  mining  in  the  long  ago — the 
old  whip-saw  pit,  the  rotten  sluices  and  overgrown  prospect  holes.  There  are 
no  "  pound  diggings"  or  golden  bullets  there,  but  gold  in  the  quartz  of  neigh- 
boring hills  in  paying  quantities.  I  am  happy  to  be  able  to  state  also,  that  the 
t\\o  miners  who  whip-sawed  those  boards  on  the  headwaters  of  the  Tomichi^ 
did  not  leave  their  skeletons  there,  and  I  must  therefore  spoil  the  tragical  fea- 
ture of  this  story.  The  gentlemen  are  still  alive,  and  are  known  as  two  of  the 
best  prospectors  and  miners  in  the  State — James  W.  Taylor  and  John  Hack. 
Taylor  River  and  Taylor  Park  in  the  Gunnison,  and  Taylor's  Gulch  in  the  Mon- 
arch district  are  named  after  the  former.  Neither  of  these  indomitable  men 
have  left  the  mountains  for  twenty  years.  They  have  faced  all  the  danger  at- 
tributed to  them  by  the  native  romancers  and  more,  and  while  they  found  no 
"  pound  diggings"  or  golden  bullets,  they  are  reaping  their  reward  at  Leadville. 
A  few  other  faithful  ones,  however,  remained,  fortified  themselves  in  Wash- 
ington Gulch,  living  almost  wholly  for  months  at  a  time  on  game  and  fish,  and 
harrassed  as  probably  intruders  deserved  to  be,  by  renegade  Utes.  In  1863  three 
men,  whose  names,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  have  passed  from  history,  still  "held  the 
fort,"  and  with  such  rude  sluice-boxes  as  they  could  fashion  by  hand,  made 
from  $o  to  $20  per  day.  These  placers  have  been  worked  almost  constantly, 
under  all  sorts  of  discouragements,  with  fair  results  ever  since.  The  rifle  went 
hand  in  hand  with  the  shovel,  and  the  skeletons  often  exhumed  in  these  days  of 
peace  indicate  many  a  thrilling  chapter  of  unwritten  history. 

THE  PIONEER  QUARTZ  MINERS. 

Developments  in  quartz  mining  date  back  to  the  summer  of  1872,  whea 
George  and  Lewis  Waite,  two  old  California  Gulch  miners,  crossed  the  mountains 
to  see  what  could  be  found  on  the  western  slope.  They  passed  over  60  miles  of 
mineral  country,  failing  to  detect  what  have  since  developed  into  some  of  the 
finest  gold  and  silver  quartz  districts  of  Gunnison,  and  hardly  called  a  halt  until 
they  reached  Rock  Creek,  an  important  tributary  of  Roaring  Fork  of  Grand 
River.  They  were  encouraged  by  long-since  abandoned  surface-diggings,  and 
soon  discovered  an  enormous  vein  of  gold  and  silver  bearing  quartz,  which  was 
fitly  named  the  "Whopper."  The  lode  was  afterwards  traced  across  the  gulch 
and  over  an  adjoining  mountain.  A  hundred  miles  of  difficult  defiles  and  steep 
heights  lay  between  the  Waites  and  an  ore  market,  but  they  have  been  tunnel- 
ing Whopper  Mountain  almost  steadily  ever  since,  quitting  work  only  tempora- 


(,l    NMSMN      A.\l>     SA.N     .11    AN.  O 

rily  at  long  intervals  when  compelled  to  go  back  to  civilization  for  powder  and 
a  "grub  stake."  Occasional!)  they  would  drive  a  pack  mule  laden  with  ore 
from  the  Whopper  or  other  discoveries  they  made,  nearly  to  Denver  or  Caflon 
City,  and  return  with  the  necessary  flour,  coffee  and  bacon.  This  they  continued 
year  after  year,  slowly  pushing  to  the  heart  of  the  great  mountain,  and  patient- 
ly piling  up  tons  upon  tons  of  rich  ore,  laying  up  treasures  for  the  inevitable  day 
of  reward.  Although  anticipating  a  little  I  cannot  resist  adding  here  that  the 
Waites  made  their  well  earned  "  home  stake"  in  1879,  when  mine  hunters  with 
capital  poured  into  the  country  from  Leadville. 

CHIEF  OUR  AY  TO  THE  RESCUE. 

A  small  band  of  prospectors  from  Denver  and  Golden,  headed  by  Jim  Bren- 
pon,  also  entered  the  Rock  Creek  district  in  1872,  and  their  reports  resulted  in 
the  first  organized  attempt  at  occupying  the  land  in  1873,  when  Dr.  John  Par- 
sons, Professor  Sylvester  Richardson  and  thirty  picked  mountaineers,  including 
an  assayer,  smelter,  geologist  and  botanist,  entered  from  Denver.  Machinery 
for  testing  and  reducing  ore  on  a  small  scale,  was  taken  along.  This  necessi- 
tated wagon  transportation,  and  the  only  practicable  route  was  via  Sagauche 
and  Los  Pinos  Agency,  at  the  southeastern  boundary  of  the  Gunnison  country. 
The  Utes  had  some  ten  years  before  exchanged  San  Luis  Valley  for  about  all  of 
Colorado  lying  west  of  the  107th  meridian,  and  had  the  whites  been  protected 
in  their  rights  no  trouble  would  have  ensued  from  their  going  as  far  west  as 
the  present  site  of  Gunnison  City.  The  agency  itself  was  located  twenty  miles 
east  of  Indian  soil,  but  General  Charles  Adams,  then  in  charge,  said  the  expedi- 
tion could  only  go  by  permission  of  the  Utes.  A  heated  controversy  and  a  tie 
vote  were  finally  settled  by  Ouray  in  favor  of  the  whites.  This  was  undoubt- 
edly the  turning  point  in  Gunnison's  history — all  praise  to  Ouray — for  remnants 
of  the  expedition  made  valuable  discoveries  of  gold,  silver,  coal,  iron,  copper, 
lead,  &c.,  and  more  than  this,  let  the  outside  world  know  of  their  success. 

In  March,  1874,  a  colony  was  formed  in  Denver  to  settle  upon  agricultural 
lands  in  Gunnison  Valley,  and  in  the  winter  following  twenty  persons,  all  told, 
were  scattered  for  thirty  miles  along  Gunnison  and  Tomichi  valleys,  while  the 
mining  districts  contained  a  still  smaller  showing  on  account  of  the  San  Juan 
stampede  of  the  previous  fall.  The  county  and  town  of  Gunnison  were  organ- 
ized in  1876,  but  not  until  late  in  1879,  when  prospectors  fresh  from  Leadville 
and  San  Juan  found  rich  gold  and  silver  ores,  and  what  they  called  carbonates* 
at  the  head  of  Quartz  Creek,  near  the  present  site  of  Pitkin,  at  the  head  of 
Tomichi  River,  and  in  other  localities,  did  the  region  attract  the  attention  it 
deserved.  In  the  spring  of  1879  the  grand  influx  began.  Probably  twenty 
thousand  men  participated  in  the  wonderful  discoveries  at  Ruby  Camp,  Gothic, 
Crested  Butte,  Tin  Cup,  Hillerton,  Roaring  Forks  and  other  camps.  At  the 
height  of  these  developments  last  fall  came  the  Ute  outbreak,  the  Thornburgh 
and  Meeker  massacres,  and  for  weeks  during  the  last  working  season  at  these 
great  altitudes  scarcely  a  day  passed  that  did  not  witness  some  act  of  Indian 
deviltry  in  sight  of  the  various  mining  camps,  such  as  setting  fire  to  the  valua- 
ble forests,  stealing  horses  or  even  killing  a  straggling  prospector.  Scarcely 
a  man  was  to  be  found  at  many  of  the  best  camps  when  winter  set  in,  and  there 
were  no  adequate  supplies  for  even  the  few  who  had  the  courage  to  remain. 


6  OVNXISON    AND    SAX    JUAN. 

WONDERFUL  DEVELOPMENT  OF  A  TEAR. 

In  spite  of  these  discouragements  5,000  mines  have  been  recorded  in  Gun- 
nison  County,  the  new  discoveries  at  present  averaging  300  per  week.  Several 
smelters  and  a  dozen  saw-mills  and  planers  are  at  work.  The  permanent  popu- 
lation of  500  last  fall  has  grown  to  12,000— and  if  I  may  judge  from  appearances 
most  of  these  people  are  here  to  stay.  An  assessed  valuation  of  about  $1,000,- 
000  has  been  created  here  on  the  borders  of  Indian  land  in  one  year.  High- 
ways upon  which  daily  stages  run  traverse  all  parts  of  the  country,  and  I 
believe  the  first  Concord  coach  made  its  appearance  in  Gunnison  less  than  sixty 
days  ago.  Seven  or  eight  newspapers  appear  weekly  in  a  field  totally  unoc- 
cupied three  months  ago.  How  appreciative  residents  are  of  good  home  litera- 
ture may  be  judged  from  the  fact  that  the  first  copies  of  three  or  four  leading 
journals  sold  at  from  $50  to  $100  each  on  the  day  they  were  issued,  and  I 
hear  $50  freely  offered  for  a  complete  file  of  eight  to  twelve  numbers.  Sub- 
stantial churches,  school  houses  and  country  buildings  are  being  erected.  A 
dozen  streams  are  being  strung  for  miles  with  houses  of  prosperous  ranchmen, 
thousands  of  cattle,  sheep  and  horses  dot  the  hills,  trains  of  rich  ores  are  to  be 
seen  going  to  the  railroad  sixty  miles  away,  and  other  trains  are  unloading  vast 
quantities  of  mining  machinery  and  a  winter's  supply  of  groceries. 

RAILROADS  FOR  GUNNISON. 

Two  railroads,  the  Denver,  South  Park  &  Pacific  and  Denver  &  Rio 
Grande,  are  coming  this  way,  the  former  as  fast  as  men  and  money  can 
push  it.  Its  management  deems  Gunnison's  trade  of  sufficient  import- 
ance to  tunnel  through  Alpine  Mountain  3,000  feet  to  get  here.  This 
great  undertaking  will  probably  delay  the  completion  of  the  line  to  Gunni- 
son City  until  midsummer,  1881,  and  it  is  a  matter  of  current  belief  here  that 
the  Denver  and  Rio  Grande  people,  who  have  a  good  route  via  Marshall  Pass, 
will  also  come  right  along.  Their  recent  heavy  purchase  of  Crested  Butte  coal 
lands,  the  activity  of  their  engineering  parties  and  other  factors  point  strongly 
to  this  conclusion.  However,  it  takes  only  sixty  miles  of  staging  to  reach 
Gunnison  now,  the  entire  distance  from  the  Missouri  River  being  made  via  the 
Union  Pacific  anl  Kansas  Pacific  railways  and  their  connections  at  Denver  in 
about  fifty  hours. 

So  much  for  the  history  of  Gunnison  and  its  accessibility.  Leaving  detailed 
description  of  the  more  important  camps  for  future  letters,  I  will  now  endeavor 
to  convey  an  idea  of  the  region's  topography  and  most  interesting  natural 
features  bearing  upon  its  practical  value  as  afield  for  both  capital  and  labor. 
Gunnison  county,  which  embraces  the  entire  region  known  as  the  Gunnison 
country,  lies  in  Western  Colorado  and  is  110  miles  long  and  eighty  miles  wide, 
a  region  nearly  10,000  square  miles  in  extent,  or  of  greater  area  than  some  of 
our  Eastern  States.  That  portion  of  the  country,  however,  which  they  treaty 
now  in  progress  will  open  to  development,  and  which  is  of  special  value,  is 
bounded  on  the  north  by  Grand  River  and  the  Roaring  Fork  of  the  Grand,  on 
the  east  by  the  Continental  Divide  and  on  the  south  and  west  mainly  by  the 
Uncompaghre  River. 

THE  GRANDEUR  OF  ELK  MOUNTAIN  RANGE. 
The  Elk  Mountain  range,  with  its  numerous  spurs,  occupies  a  large  propor- 
tion of  the  area — a  mountain  group  pronounced  by  our  geologists  one  of  the 
most  remarkable  in  the  Rockies.     In  this  range  are  seven  peaks  rising  to  nearly 


(.1  N.MM.N    AND    SAN    .11  AN. 

14,000  feet  above  the  sea,  and  scores  ranging  from  12,000  to  13,000. 
gorges  and  ampitheatres  meet  the  eye  on  every  side.  Castle  Peak,  14,115  feet 
high,  rears  its  turrets  and  spires  of  solid  granite  vertically  thousands  of  feet 
above  the  line  of  perpetual  snow,  and  Snow  Mass  Mountain,  13,961  feet  high, 
exhibits  acres  upon  acres  of  perpetual  snow  and  ice.  The  noted  Teocali  Moun- 
tain, named  after  the  highest  tower  of  the  Montezumas,  is  also  here.  Scien- 
tists tell  us  that  the  vast  thickness  of  sedimentary  strata  once  rested  upon  a 
floor  of  igneous  granite  in  a  pasty  or  semi-pasty  condition,  and  that  these  high 
peaks  were  thrust  up  through  the  overlying  beds,  in  many  instances  completely 
overturning  them  for  miles.  Miles  of  granite  shafts,  stupendous  in  proportion, 
were  shot  towards  heaven  or  horizontally.  The  lower  ranges  are  covered  with 
the  finest  white  pine  and  spruce  I  have  ever  seen,  while  the  splintered  summits 
of  a  hundred  peaks  are  vivid  with  their  mineral  stains,  varying  from  a  perfect 
crimson  through  the  shades  of  pink  to  the  brightest  yellow,  brown,  and  even 
blac1?,  with  the  cold  glittering  gray  of  the  porphyry  always  ascendant.  The 
combinations  of  color  and  effects  produced  on  rugged  mountain  sides  by  con- 
stant seepage  of  water  from  deposits  of  iron,  copper,  and  other  minerals,  is 
marvelous,  while  the  ever-present  masses  of  snow  above  and  in  surrounding 
gorges,  and  the  dense  groundwork  of  blue  and  purple  of  forests  below  add  to 
produce  landscapes  so  respendently  beautiful  and  overpoweringly  grand  that  if 
the  artist's  fancies  ever  does  the  whole  justice  it  will  be  scoffed  at  in  the  Eas- 
tern World.  Think  of  a  vast  mountain  of  rubies  crowned  with  acres  of  bur- 
nished silver  and  you  have  Ruby  Peak  as  it  appears  under  the  bright  sunlight 
here  near  Irwin  every  day  in  summer. 

VAST  CROPPINGS  OF  MINERAL. 

In  a  region  of  such  decided  and  terrific  upheaval  the  mineral  veins  are 
naturally  well  defined,  in  many  cases  standing  out  from  mountain  sides  in  im- 
mense dykes,  easily  traceable  on  the  surface  for  miles.  It  is  emphatically  the 
country  of  fissure  veins,  and  yet  presents  the  rare  example  of  immense  coal 
and  iron  beds  lying  in  sight  of  the  best  gold  and  silver  lodes. 

The  country  is  abundantly  watered  by  streams  fresh  from  the  snow-fields. 
The  principal  streams— all  draining  into  Colorado  River  and  thence  to  the  Gulf 
of  California — are  the  Gunnison,  Uncompaghre,  Cochetopa,  Tomichi,  Taylor, 
East,  Ohio,  Eagle,  Rock,  Roaring  Fork  and  Slate  rivers,  all  noble  streams,  clear 
as  crystal  and  full  of  trout,  and  each  fed  by  dozens  of  mountain  brooks  and 
creeks.  The  valleys  are  not  extensive  and  agriculture  will  never  play  an  im- 
portant part  in  this  region's  prosperity.  About  twenty-five  miles  is  the  greatest 
length  of  arable  area  in  any  valley,  and  two  to  three  miles  the  greatest  breadth. 
The  elevation  above  the  sea  of  habitable  valleys  is  from  5,500  to  9,000  feet. 
Irrigation  must  be  practiced  everywhere  to  insure  the  growth  of  crops.  Nestled 
as  the  valleys  are  among  the  most  stupendous  mountains  our  land  affords,  and 
richly  carpeted  with  grasses  and  flowers,  they  present  some  of  the  most  ex- 
quisitely beautiful  pictures  the  eye  will  ever  behold.  All  the  bench  lands, 
parks  and  lower  mountain  ranges  are  covered  with  bunch  grass,  blue-grass  and 
other  varieties  of  nutritious  herbs,  which  in  all  cases  afford  excellent  pasturage 
six  months  in  the  year,  and  at  altitudes  not  exceeding  8,500  feet  sustains  cattle, 
sheep  and  horses  winter  and  summer.  There  are  probably  1,000,000  acres  of 
all-the-year  pasturage  in  Gunnison  county. 


8  GUNNISON    AND    SAN    JUAN. 

TOPOGRAPHY  OF  THE  MINING  BEL  T. 

It  is  the  popular  thing  here,  and  probably  the  one  most  apropos,  to  liken  the 
topography  of  the  mining  belt  to  a  fan.  At  the  end  of  the  handle,  in  a  level 
commanding  park  formed  by  the  union  of  Gunnison  and  Tomichi  rivers,  and  at 
an  elevation  of  7,500  feet,  is  the  town  of  Gunnison.  Thirty  miles  northward, 
at  the  top  apd  center  of  the  fan,  are  the  galena  and  coal  mines  of  Crested  Butte, 
where  a  thirty-ton  smelter  has  been  built.  From  Crested  Butte,  as  an  apex,  the 
mountains  and  gulches  that  bear  the  precious  metals  radiate  as  the  folds  of  a 
fan .  Eastward  ten  miles  along  Copper  Creek  are  the  famous  ruby  and  native 
silver  mines  of  Gothic,  where  quantities  of  ore  jieldiny  $1,000  to  $3,000  silver 
per  ton  are  being  produced,  and  where  the  "  Sylvanite  "  mine  has  accumulated 
in  the  past  few  weeks  one  car-load  of  ore  for  shipment  to  Newark,  N.  J.,  that 
will  average  $3,500  per  ton  in  value.  A  few  miles  north  of  Gothic  are  Whopper, 
Treasure  and  Maroon  mountains,  all  rich  in  heavy  galena,  and  the  districts  in 
which  the  Waite*  and  others  have  made  their  fortunes.  East  from  the  region 
just  named  five  to  fifteen  miles  are  the  East  Eiver,  Cement  Creek  and  Spring 
Creek  gold  and  silver  mines,  the  localities  first  named  abounding  in  prodigious 
veins  of  silver  ore  worth  $75  to  $200  per  ton,  and  some  promising  gold  "  finds," 
and  the  latter  just  now  revelling  in  the  luxury  of  a  first-class  carbonate  stam- 
pede. To  the  southeast  from  ten  to  twenty  miles  further  are  the  Hillerton, 
Tincup  and  Pitkin  districts,  all  showing  strong  veins  of  either  gold  or  silver  in 
most  favorable  formation  for  permanency.  The  "  Gold  Cup  "  Mine,  near  Hill- 
erton, has  already  shipped  many  tons  of  exceptionally  high-grade  ore,  and  the 
"Silver  Islet"  and  "Fairview,"  at  Pitkin,  produce  silver  ore  yielding  4,700 
ounces  and  upward  per  ton.  These  groups  complete  our  imaginary  fan  almost 
due  east  of  Gunnison,  twenty-five  to  thirty  miles. 

Westward  from  the  Crested  Butte  axis,  eight  miles,  are  Ruby  Camp,  Silver 
Basin  and  other  districts,  comprising  what  now  promise  to  be  the  most  im- 
portant producers  of  extremely  high  grade  silver  ores  in  the  Rockies.  The 
"Forest  Queen"  Mine  at  Irwin,  Ruby  Camp,  showing  a  crevice  of  over  100 
feet  and  a  pay  streak  of  4  to  8  feet  yielding  large  masses  of  ruby,  native  and 
wire  silver  worth  all  the  way  from  $500  to  $10,000  per  ton,  and  which  has  thus 
far  paid  $200  per  foot  over  all  expenses  for  every  foot  of  shaft  sunk,  is  only  a 
sample  among  such  giant  veins  as  the  "Old  Shiek,"  "Bullion  King,"  "Ruby 
King,"  and  many  others  now  producing  high  grade  shipping  ore.  West  and 
southwest  of  Irwin  from  three  to  ten  miles,  and  completing  the  fan,  are  the 
great  anthracite  and  bituminous  coal  deposits  of  Anthracite  and  Ohio  creeks, 
the  former  coking  fairly  and  the  latter  by  numerous  tests  proving  equal  to  the 
Pennsylvania  anthracite — the  first  discovery  of  real  anthracite  I  have  yet  found 
west  of  Pennsylvania.  All  these  districts  are  easily  accessible  by  good  roads 
from  the  town  of  Gunnison . 

GUNNISON  CITY— THREE  MONTHS  OF  MAE VE LOU 8  GROWTH. 

With  a  few  words  about  the  embryo  metropolis,  Gunnison  City,  I  will  close 
for  my  extended  tour  of  "  the  camps."  A  strong  force  of  Uncompahgre  Utes 
camped  last  summer  jon  the  site  of  Gunnison,  their  tepees  now  being  replaced 
by  some  300  houses,  with  a  population  of  1,200  or  more.  A  number  of  these 
structures  are  now  occupied  with  stocks  of  goods  worth  $40,000  to  $85,000 
each,  from  which  sales  are  made  to  the  extent  of  $10,000  to  830,000  per  month 


GI'NMSON     A.\I>     SAN     .11   A  N .  9 

each.  The  Bank  of  Gunnison  is  a  striking  example  of  the  rapid  creation  of 
solid  commercial  institutions  in  a  wilderness,  its  directory  representing  $10,- 
000,000  of  capital,  and  composing  such  men  as  Governor  Tabor,  Colorado's 
bonan/o  king.  A  $15,000  court  house,  $20,000  hotel  and  $7.000  public  school- 
house,  besides  several  churches  and  excellent  business  blocks  in  course  of 
erection,  are  a  few  of  the  surprises  in  this  three-months-old  town;  but  the 
strangest  of  all  are  real  estate  values.  The  lot  occupied  by  tbe  Bank  of  Gun- 
nison, which  cost  $10  last  fall,  is  now  worth  $1,500.  Across  the  street  from 
the  bank  is  a  log  cabin  that  cost  about  $100,  and  its  occupants  pay  their  $40 
monthly  rental  cheerfully.  Jack  Haverly,  our  eccentric  theatrical  manager, 
bought  something  like  a  thousand  lots  and  a  neighboring  ranch  in  May  for 
$30,000,  and  could  probably  double  his  money  by  their  sale  now.  Late  last 
fall  the  Gunnison  postoffice  was  the  unimportant  occupant  of  a  dry-goods  box. 
It  now  handles  some  3,000  letters  daily,  and  receives  regularly  200  different 
publications. 


ELK  MOUNTAIN  MINES. 


SECOND  LETTER— RICHES  OF  THE  GREAT  RUBY  BELT— THE  FOREST 

QUEEN,  OLD  SHIEK,  BULLION  KING,  AND  OTHER  BONANZAS 

AT  IRWIN— ANTHRACITE  COAL  FIELDS,  ETC. 

IRWIN,  RUBY  CAMP,  COLORADO,  Aug.  28th,  1880. 

"Ruby  Camp,"  thirty  miles  north  of  Gunnison  City,  is  without  doubt  the 
most  important  mineral  district  yet  discovered  in  the  Elk  Mountain  country. 
Ruby  Belt  proper,  named  from  the  large  proportion  of  ruby  silver  in  its  ores,  is 
six  miles  in  length  north  and  south  and  three  miles  in  width.  The  great  an- 
thracite coal  fields  and  Ruby  Peak  form  a  distinct  boundary  on  the  west,  and 
Elk  Basin,  Galena  District,  draws  a  line  equally  distinct  on  the  east.  The  en- 
iire  belt  of  eighteen  square  miles  lies  at  an  altitude  exceeding  10,000  feet,  some 
rich  discoveries  having  been  made  far  above  timber  line,  12,000  and  even  13,000 
feet  above  the  sea.  The  mineral  croppings  throughout  the  belt  are  the  most 
regular,  positive  and  stupendous  I  have  ever  seen,  several  of  the  largest  veins 
being  traceable  upon  the  surface  for  a  mile  or  more  as  plainly  as  the  wall  of 
China,  and  their  various  spurs  seaming  the  mountain  sides  protrude  on  every 
hand.  The  veins  nearly  all  dip  twelve  to  fifteen  degrees  from  the  perpendicu- 
lar, and  in  numerous  instances  the  "hanging  wall"  has  the  appearance  of  a 
mineral  bearing  slate,  while  the  lower  or  "foot  wall"  is  a  sort  of  trachyte.  The 
pay  matter  in  most  instances  has  started  at  the  surface  in  the  shape  of  the 
greenish  chlorides  of  silver,  milling  from  500  to  1,000  ounces  of  silver  to  the 
ton.  At  a  depth  of  three  to  six  feet  ruby  silver  (50  to  60  per  cent,  pure  silver,) 
brittle  silver  and  native  silver,  have  manifested  themselves,  notably  in  the  For- 
est Queen,  Ruby  King  and  Ruby  Chief  lodes,  and  at  greater  depths  sulphurets 
of  silver.  To  a  depth  of  40  or  50  feet  the  ore  is  of  almost  unexampled 
richness  and  has  not  often  proved  so  refractory  as  to  necessitate  any  very  com- 
pl  cated  process  in  treatment,  but  arsenical  iron  and  zinc  are  coming  in  quite 
strongly  in  some  of  the  deeper  shafts.  While  these  are  the  miner's  mo^t  un- 


10  GUNNISON    AND    SAN    JUAN. 

comfortable  apparition  —  and  zinc  is  so  hated  that  he  calls  it  "black  jack"  —  they 
nevertheless  auger  well  for  the  strength  and  permanency  of  veins.  There  is- 
but  little  lead  in  the  Kuby  mines.  Over  1,000  claims  have  been  recorded,  and 
you  may  imagine  Ruby  Belt  is  pretty  well  '  'staked." 

THE  F1EST  DISCOVEEY. 

The  first  discovery  was  the  Ruby  Chief,  located  June  5,  1879,  by  Messrs, 
Brennand  &  Diffebaugh.  It  was  easily  found  by  the  enormous  croppings,  and 
the  first  ton  of  crevice  matter  blasted  down  yielded  $300.  "The  crevice  is  14  feet 
wide.  Two  tunnels  200  feet  apart,  cutting  the  vein  at  right  angles  some  50 
feet  below  the  surface,  disclose  an  ore  body  from  one  to  two  feet  thick  whose 
product  is  837  ounces  silver  per  ton  for  first-class  rock,  416  ounces  for  second- 
class,  and  200  ounces  for  third-class.  An  18-inch  vein  of  2,000-ounce  ore  has 
been  found  in  another  opening.  About  600  feet  above  the  Ruby  Chief,  and 
along  the  south  base  of  Ruby  Peak,  is  the  Old  Shiek  lode,  the  second  discovery 
in  the  camp,  having  been  located  only  a  few  hours  after  the  first,  and  on  which 
there  are  four  locations  of  1,500  feet  each.  The  width  of  the  lode  on  the  sur- 
face and  so  far  as  developments  have  disclosed  is  from  60  to  75  feet,  and 
the  pay  vein  15  to  20  feet.  Specimens  of  ruby  and  brittle  silver,  assay- 
ing from  $1,000  to  flO,000  per  ton,  can  be  found  upon  the  cropping  on 
almost  every  rod  of  this  mammoth  vein.  It  is  claimed  that  ore  and  rock 
together,  just  as  it  is  blasted  from  the  entire  width  of  15  to  20  feet, 
will  yield  an  average  of  100  ounces  silver  per  ton.  Developments  so  far 
as  they  have  progressed  look  like  the  quarrying  of  stone  from  an  immense  stone- 
quarry.  The  Howard  Extension,  Old  Mexico  and  Chloride  Deposit  are  the 
other  important  locations  on  the  Shiek  lode.  Numerous  shafts,  cuts  and  tun- 


nels^ exposing  tTi^^re^t^v^in~ardepths  ranging  froin~25  to  100  feet  show  sub 
stantially  the  same  ore-body  as  above  described.  Three  assays  made  from  a  large 
dump  of  Howard  Extension  ore,  to  determine  the  values  of  all  the  matter  being 
taken  from  the  20-foot  vein,  resulted  as  follows:  $334,  $166  and  $840  silver 
to  the  ton.  Proceeding  across  a  gulch  to  a  neighboring  mountain,  one  and  one^ 
half  miles  east  of  the  Old  Shiek,  is  the  Justice,  owned  by  Messrs.  Thompson 
Brothers,  of  Ruby,  and  Field  and  Farwell,  the  merchant  princes  of  Chicago. 
It  is  on  a  direct  line  with  Old  Shiek,  and  is  believed  to  be  the  extension  of  that 
lode  on  account  of  its  similar  prodigious  size  and  the  character  and  dip  of  its 
vein.  It  protrudes  from  the  surface  a  dozen  feet  or  more.  Some  25  tons  of 
top  rock  ready  for  shipment  will,  from  careful  sampling,  yield  500  to  600  ounces 
silver  per  ton.  Dozens  of  spurs  or  offshoots  from  these  veins  are  being  de- 
veloped, nearly  all  having  more  or  less  rich  shipping  ore  out  ready  for  the  ad- 
vent of  smelters. 

JA  CK  HA  VEEL  P  8  GEE  A  T  PUE  CHA  SES. 

Half  a  mile  south  of  the  Old  Shiek  lies  the  Bullion  King  and  Monte  Christor 
discovered  in  July,  1879,  by  Ule  Bros.  &  McCloud,  and  sold  to  J.  H.  Haverly  & 
Co.  in  December  —  when  there  was  no  semblance  of  development,  but  an  open 
cut  twelve  feet  deep  on  the  former  —  for  $105,000.  This  region  is  probably  the 
only  one  in  all  Christendom  where  ten  and  twelve-foot  holes  sell  frequently  for 
from  $100,000  to  $200,000,  and  Jack  Haverly  Is  one  of  the  kind  of  men  who  are 
captured  by  "big  croppinps."  These  claims  are  on  one  vein  and  a  50-foot 
shaft  exposed  an  18-inch  pay  streak.  Enough  ore  yielding  400  to  1,200 


(,l    XNIM'N      AMI     s  AN     .HAN.  1   1 


ounces  of  Mlver  per  ton  to  pay  the  expense  of  the  development  noted,  as  well 
as  other  open  cuts,  &c.,  has  been  shipped.  During  my  visit,  a  blast  in  the 
Monti-  (  luisto  knocked  down  a  line  lot  of  ore  fairly  mottled  with  ruby  silver. 
First-rlass  hoisting  works  will  be  erected  on  the  Bullion  King  this  fall.  Mr. 
Ilavi-rly,  who  has  Mr.  E.  A.  Buck,  of  the  New  York  Spirit  of  the  Times,  and 
Mr.  C.  S.  Boucher,  a  Pennsylvania  journalist,  interested  with  him,  is  dabbling 
in  about  every  conceivable  enterprise  that  promises  a  "good  thing  "  in  Gunni- 
son,  San  Juan  and  other  new  mineral  districts.  He  owns  a  controlling  interest 
in  2,000  lots  in  Gunnison,  Irwin  and  Crested  Butte,  large  tracts  of  coal  lands  in 
Washington  Gulch,  a  dozen  silver  veins  at  Ruby  and  Gothic,  a  three-fourths  in- 
terest in  the  Gunnison  News,  several  ranches  near  Gunnison,  and  two  stores  In 
the  same  place,  a  saw-mill,  mines  by  the  dozen  in  San  Juan  and  Silver  Cliff,  and 
keeps  eight  prospecting  companies  in  the  field  to  find  more.  It  is  a  serious 
question  down  in  this  country  what  is  to  be  done  to  appease  such  an  appetite. 

THE  FOREST  QUEEN-  ONE  HUNDRED  THOUSAND  DOLLARS  FOR 
AN  HOUR'S  WORK. 

But  the  most  famous  mine  of  all  Gunnison  is  the  Forest  Queen,  and  you 
cannot  tarry  in  Irwin  an  hour  without  being  asked,  "  Have  you  seen  the  Forest 
Queen?"  Well,  it  is  enough  of  a  mine  to  alone  support  such  a  town  as  Irwin 
when  properly  developed,  and  its  history  is  worth  repeating.  A  "  tenderfoot," 
named  W.  A.  Fisher,  who  had  driven  all  the  way  from  Maryland  with  an  ox  team, 
and  who  had  never  seen  a  mine,  arrived  at  the  lower  etc!  of  Ruby  Gulch  on  the 
evening  of  July  7,  1879.  The  grade  was  very  steep  and  the  mud  almost  bottom- 
less at  his  point  of  entry,  and  his  wagon  became  almost  hopelessly  mired.  A 
spectator,  O.  P.  Mace,  succeeded  in  pulling  him  out  with  a  strong  pair  of  mules, 
and  Fisher  gratefully  told  him  he  would  give  him  a  half  interest  in  the  first  mine 
he  found.  Mace  little  thought  the  kindness,  small  as  it  was,  would  net  him 
$100,000;  but  the  next'morning  Fisher  started  up  the  nearest  gulch,  which 
happened  to  be  that  leading  to  the  head  of  Coal  Creek.  Not  more  that  200  yards 
above  the  town  he  found  a  tremendous  dyke  or  vein  of  quartz  crossing  the  gulch 
and  laid  plainly  bare  by  the  constant  action  of  the  stream.  Verdant  as  he  was  he 
could  not  help  seeing  ruby,  native  and  brittle  silver.  The  claim  on  the  north  side 
of  the  creek  he  named  the  Forest  Queen,  and  that  on  the  south  side  the  Ruby  King. 
He  gave  Mace  his  choice,  which  settled  on  the  Ruby  King,  and  then  was  left 
with  that  portion  of  the  lode  which  has  created  such  a  furor  in  the  mining 
world.  Strangely  enough,  Mace  sold  his  portion,  with  less  than  ten  feet  of  the 
rock  removed,  for  $100,000,  while  Fisher,  who  made  about  the  same  develop- 
ments on  what  has  generally  been  conceded  the  better  mine,  sold  for  .$40,000. 

The  Forest  Queen  vein  is  from  100  to  125.  feet  wide,  its  course  northeast 
and  southwest,  and  its  "  dip  "  from  the  vertical  12  degrees  to  the  east.  It  pro- 
trudes from  the  surface  in  mammoth  ledges  of  hard,  flinty  quartz  for  nearly 
1,000  feet.  The  pay-streak,  running  from  4  to  8  feet  in  width,  is  composed  of 
just  such  material  as  referred  to  in  notes  concerning  the  Old  Shiek  and  other 
Ruby  mines,  with  this  difference,  that  throughout  the  1000  feet  of  croppings, 
ore  worth  anywhere  from 

FIVE  THOUSAND  TO  FIFTEEN  THOUSAND  DOLLARS  PER  TON 

is  found  in  respectable  quantities.  Near  the  deepest  shaft  the  vein  has  been  cut 
down  some  20  feet  and  graded  to  make  room  for  extensive  hoisting  works,  a 
surface  some  100  feet  square  being  thus  exposed.  Not  only  is  the  main  pay- 


12  GUNNISON    AND    SAN    JUAN. 

streak  here  plainly  discernable,  but  a  dozen  smaller  streaks  of  ruby,  brittle 
silver,  native  silver  and  chlorides,  assaying  high  up  in  the  thousands,  and  dif- 
fused throughout  the  100  feet  of  vein  matter.  Last  fall  $60,000  worth  of  ore 
was  taken  out  of  a  cut  some  60  feet  long  and  10  feet  deep.  Over  $40,000  worth 
of  ore  was  taken  out  during  the  summer  at  a  total  expense  for  mining  of  $700. 
This  ran  up  to  $1000  per  ton.  A  shaft  4x12  feet  is  down  70  feet,  having  passed 
through  solid  shipping  ore  all  the  way,  and  a  tunnel  is  now  in  100  feet  from  point 
of  discovery  at  the  creek  bed,  also  disclosing  immense  bodies  of  high-grade 
mineral.  The  ore  taken  from  the  shaft  alone — which  is  always  considered 
"dtad  work" — has  paid  for  all  developments,  for  the  employment  of  thirty 
men,  for  timbering,  grading  and  expensive  hoisting  works,  and  $200  per  foot 
net  profit  besides.  The  ore  has  not  been  assorted,  but  shipped  to  Denver  and 
other  points  just  as  it  came  from  the  vein.  I  have  before  me  statements  from 
Senator  Hill's  smelting  works  at  Denver  showing  that  ore  averaged  619  ounces 
of  silver  to  the  ton  in  car  load  lots,  and  another  shipment  taken  from  within 
four  feet  of  the  surface  that  returned  $783  per  ton,  a  small  percentage  being 
gold  The  ore  can  undoubtedly  be  assorted  so  as  to  run  any  where  from  $5,000  to 
$10,000,  for  I  saw  at  the  mines  a  dozen  sacks — part  of  one  or  two  tons  of  speci- 
mens selected  each  month— and  these  lots  have  averaged  6,000  ounces  of  silver 
per  ton.  I  descended  into  the  shaft  just  after  two  blasts  were  fired,  and  found 
nearly  two  tons  of  rich  ore  strewn  over  the  bottom,  fragments  of  ruby  silver  as 
richly  colored  as  the  name  would  indicate,  and  masses  weighing  two  hundred  to 
three  hundred  pounds,  full  of  brittle,  native  and  ruby  silver. 

The  Forest  Queen  is  indeed  a  "royal  find,"  with  its  capital  of  $1,000,000 
easily  in  sight.  There  are  10,000  shares  of  stock  of  a  par  value  of  $100,  and 
the  confidence  of  some  holders  in  the  future  of  the  property  can  be  judged  from 
the  fact  that  there  is  a  standing  offer  out  for  2,000  shares  at  par.  The  princi- 
pal owners  are  Colonel  D.  C.  Dodge,  General  Manager  of  the  Denver  and  Rio 
Grande  Railway;  George  M.  Pullman,  of  Pullman-car  fame;  Mr.  Woerishoffer, 
the  New  York  banker;  R.  W.  Woodbury,  proprietor  of  the  Denver  Daily  Times, 
and  General  Palmer.  President  of  the  Denver  and  Rio  Grande  Railway.  Colonel 
W.  T.  Holt,  a  prominent  manufacturer  of  Portland,  Me.,  is  President  of  the 
company,  and  L.  R.  Thompson,  the  organizer  of  the  company,  is  Superinten- 
dent. No  effort  has  been  made  to  ship  ore,  as  the  mine  is  being  systematically 
developed  with  an  eye  to  a  future  permanent  output.  About  two  hundred  tons 
have  gone  to  market  this  season,  and  the  average  output  after  next  week  will 
t>e  about  twenty  tors  per  day.  Good  judges  say  that  the  product  can  be  run  up 
to  $10,000  per  day  at  a  week's  notice. 

The  Ruby  King  is  a  second  edition  of  the  Forest  Queen,  the  vein  being  only 
broken,  as  already  noted,  by  Coal  Creek,  and  the  cleft  being  less  than  six  feet. 
The  main  pay-streak  is  now  3  feet  10  inches  of  solid  mineral  that  will  average 
500  ounces  of  silver  to  the  ton.  A  65-foot  shaft  and  70-foot  drift  have  found 
the  ore  body  without  a  break,  and  at  one  point  a  drift  of  22  feet  6  inches  across 
the  vein  disclosed  pay  ore  all  the  way.  Ore  will  not  be  raised  for  six  months, 
except  that  which  lies  in  the  way  of  development.  This  dead  work  alone  pro- 
duces six  tons  of  rich  ore  daily.  Col.  W.  T.  Holt  is  the  owner  of  this  prize,  and 
with  his  10,000  head  of  cattle  and  15,000  sheep  roaming  the  Colorado  plains,  as 
well  as  his  heavy  manufacturing  interests,  he  can  well  afford  to  carry  out  an 
extensive  system  of  development  explained  to  me,  rather  than  to  strip  the 
mine  for  present  profit. 


•  ,l    NM-n.N      A\l»     >A\     .11   AN.  13 

A  RANCHMAN'S  RUSE  FHo.M    WANT    TO  AFFLUENCE. 

A  mile  northwest  of  Irvvin,  overlooking  beautiful  Lake  Brennaud,  are  the 
Lead  Chief  and  Little  Chief.  The  veins  run  parallel  east  and  west  and  are  close 
enough  together  to  be  embraced  in  the  300  feet  allowed  one  location.  The  Lead 
Chirf  was  discovered  July  1,  1879,  by  A.  T,  Gilkerson,  under  circumstances 
i-vt  n  more  interesting  than  attended  the  finding  of  the  Forest  Queen.  Gilker- 
sou  had  tried  his  luck  in  the  mines  of  various  Western  States  and  Territories 
for  t)velve  years  with  very  poor  success  and  was  really  in  destitute  circum- 
stances. He  had  loaded  his  effects  in  a  wagon  at  Gothic,  some  twenty  miles 
from  here,  and  was  about  to  do  the  same  with  his  almost  naked  family  and 
start  on  his  wearisome  journey  across  the  plains  to  his  old  home  in  the  far 
East.  Going  to  the  pasture  for  his  mules,  he  found  one  of  them  dead.  He 
had  no  credit,  could  not  buy  another  animal  or  get  work,  and  leaving  his  family 
with  the  few  provisions  they  had,  he  walked  hither  in  hopes  of  receiving  at 
least  temporary  employment.  Pausing  near  the  present  site  of  the  Lead  Chief 
buildings  to  rest  and  eat  a  scanty  lunch  with  a  companion,  R.  A.  Duncan,  he 
took  occasion  to  follow  the  trail  a  few  yards  down  to  Anthracite  Creek  for  a 
drink,  and  on  the  way  noticed  an  inviting  ledge  that  had  been  laid  bare  by 
horses'  hoofs.  It  was  "prospected,"  the  Lead  Chief  discovered,  and  soon  its 
marvellously  rich  specimens  of  native  ruby  and  wire  silver  attracted  the  atten- 
tion of  capitalists,  and  last  March  he  was  made 

FIFTY  THOUSAND  DOLLARS  RICHER  BY  ITS  SALE, 

Duncan  pocketing  a  like  amount.  The  family  were  soon  brought  over  from 
Crested  Butte,  loaded  on  sleds,  and  eight  mountaineers  on  snow  shoes  pulled 
them  for  two  days  over  eight  to  twenty  feet  of  snow  to  Ohio  Valley,  where  more 
comfortable  conveyances  could  be  used  to  carry  them  out  to  civilization.  Gil- 
kerson has  purchased  a  splendid  farm  in  Cache  La  Poudre  Valley,  this  State* 
and  will  live  comfortably  hereafter.  I  should  not  forget,  however,  that  liis  boys, 
Charlie  and  Willie,  aged  seven  and  nine  respectively,  discovered  the  Little 
Chief  while  their  father  was  busy  in  his  work  of  development  on  the  Lead 
Chief.  They  dug  faithfully  for  weeks  in  t'>e  vicinity  for  "blind  lodes,"  were 
finally  successful,  and  their  claim  (which  has  been  sold  at  a  handsome  figure  to 
the  Lead  Chief  Company)  is  now  believed  to  be  the  '-mother  lode,"  as  it  shows 
much  the  stronger  vein.  The.-e  veins  are  from  four  to  six  feet  wide,  with  pay 
streaks  averaging  about  one  foot.  Shafts  are  down  forty-five  to  seventy  feet,  dis- 
closing zinc  blende  and  iron  pyrites  literally  flaked  with  native  and  wire  silver. 
Several  lots  of  ore  have  been  shipped,  yielding  splendidly.  Colonel  E.  P.  Jacob- 
son,  a  prominent  Denver  attorney,  and  others  own  these  claims.  Hoisting 
works  will  be  put  up  for  the  Little  Chief  this  fall. 

HUNDREDS  OF  PROMISING  PROSPECTS. 

In  sight  of  Irwin  are  hundreds  of  promising  "prospects,"  many  of  which  are 
accumulating  ores,  similar  to  those  already  described,  for  shipment,  and  prob- 
ably a  hundred  of  which  have  changed  hands  at  figures  ranging  from  $5,000  to 
$25,000  each.  Then  there  are  groups  of  worthy  properties  clustered  all  over 
the  surrounding  mountains  from  one  to  three  miles  away.  Among  the  more 
important  of  the  latter  are  the  Grant  Park  Mines,  one  mile,  to  the  east.  The 
Fairview,  Ella,  Eureka  and  Diablo  are  the  best  developed  lodes  here,  and  a 


14  GUNNISON    AND    SAN    JUAN. 

striking  peculiarity  is  their  all  lying  parallel  and  just  about  325  feet  apart. 
They  all  carry  a  hard,  white  quartz,  "running  high  in  ruby  and  native  silver,  and 
are  therefore  absolutely  free  from  refractory  metals.  The  crevices  are  4  to  6 
feet  wide,  with  pay  veins  8  inches  to  3  feet  thick,  and  mill  runs  of  the  ore  show 
a  value  of  200  to  1,000  ounces  silver  per  ton.  The  Eureka,  only  15  feet  deep, 
sold  a  day  or  two  ago  for  $18,000,  and  the  Thompson  Bros.,  of  Forest  Queen  no- 
toriety, bought  the  Fairview  last  spring,  with  only  a  10  foot  prospect  hole,  for 
$10,000.  They  have  since  refused  $30,000  after  sinking  it  15  feet  deeper.  The 
Fairview  is  shipping  $300  ore. 

Four  miles  northwest  of  Irwin,  beyond  Ruby  Peak,  is  Silver  Basin,  where  a 
company  of  Texas  capitalists  and  others  are  operating  on  the  General  Sales 
lode,  a  monster  deposit  protruding  from  the  surface  from  five  to  twenty  feet  for 
four  miles.  Mill  runs  at  Leadville  of  ore  from  some  of  these  claims  returned 
$527  silver  per  ton.  The  Alabama  and  Poland  also  show  immense  croppings  of 
silver-bearing  galena.  Some  fifty  claims  are  being  worked  in  Silver  Basin. 

8ENATOE  ELAINE'S  INVESTMENT. 

One  and  one-half  miles  north  of  Irwin,  in  Susquehanna  Basin,  is  the  Inde- 
pendence Mine,  the  property  of  Senator  Blaine  and  Lieutenant-Govern  or  Tabor. 
The  present  owners  were  glad  to  get  an  "entering  wedge"  of  a  one-half  interest 
last  winter  at  $65,000,  and  have  since  paid  a  good  round  sum  for  the  entire 
mine.  The  vein  is  of  gigantic  proportions,  and  is  readily  traced  on  the  surface 
for  a  mile.  There  are  three  feet  of  heavy  galena  ore,  running  well  in  silver,  at 
the  bottom  of  a  forty-foot  shaft.  Near  by,  in  Elk  Basin,  Messrs.  Fields  &  Co, 
are  working  the  Elk,  Brittle  Silver,  King  and  several  other  claims  out  of  a  to- 
tal of  thirty-five  owned  by  them  there.  Eighteen-inch  pay  streaks,  showing 
richly  in  gray  copper,  native  and  ruby  silver  ore,  are  the  interesting  features  of 
half  a  dozen  of  these  prospects. 

VAST  DEPOSITS  OF  ANTHEACITE  COAL. 

Hardly  second  in  importance  to  the  silver  veins  of  Ruby  Camp  are  the  de- 
posits of  anthracite  coal.  It  may  be  noted  here  that  the  presence  in  vast  quan- 
tities of  coal  contiguous  to  the  precious  metals,  and  the  indications  of  slate  in 
the  wall- rock  of  some  of  the  very  best  silver  veins,  has  proved  quite  a  bug- 
bear in  the  eyes  of  capitalists.  Indeed,  "experts"  from  Leadville  and  else- 
where, have  maintained  that  when  the  silver  veins  are  worked  to  a  great  depth 
the  entire  Ruby  Belt  will  be  found  underlaid  with  coal.  Other  well-informed 
mining  engineers  and  geologists  claim  that  there  is  a  well-defined  break  or 
"fault"  of  some  thousands  of  feet  between  the  coal  belt  and  the  silver  belt,  and 
that  from  the  very  nature  of  their  position  it  is  certain  the  two  can  never  min- 
gle. I  have  been  over  all  the  ground  carefully,  and  it  would  seem  to  me,  from 
the  rapid  "dip"  of  the  coal  in  the  direction  of  the  silver  belt,  that  the  veins  of 
the  former  thus  far  uncovered  will  never  be  reached  by  shafts  of  silver  mines 
until  some  invention  will  enable  the  modern  miner  to  sink  far  deeper  than  the 
well-known  "dead  line"  of  heat  encountered  in  the  oldest  European  mines. 
Granting  that  coal  may  supplant  silver  here  at  some  time  in  the  distant  future, 
the  enthusiastic  Ruby  mine  owner  insists  that  he  has  enough  ore  in  sight  to 
revolutionize  the  silver  market,  and  "don't  care  a  continental  what  happens  after 
that." 

The  anthracite  coal  measures  lie  three  miles  southwest  of  Irwin,  on  a 
branch  of  Anthracite  Creek.  They  were  easily  discovered,  about  a  year  ago, 


A  M  >     SA  N     .1  I    A  \.  15 

through  t\\e  masses  of  "float"  found  far  down  the  creek  by  Messrs.  Brown, 
Thompson  &  Co.,  of  Irwin,  who  have  secured  about  1,000  acres  of  land  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  croppings.  The  Denver,  South  Park  &  Pacific  Railway  Com- 
pany has  also  come  into  possession  of  1,000  acres  adjoining  on  the  north.  The 
creek  cuts  through  a  narrow  gorge  about  125  feet  deep,  exposing  the  deposit  on 
both  sides  for  nearly  three  fourths  of  a  mile.  The  first  vein  near  the  surface, 
commonly  called  a  horizontal  one,  but  pitching  rapidly  to  the  north,  is  from 
four  to  six  feet  thick.  Between  this  and  the  bed  of  the  creek  are  two  other 
veins  of  less  magnitude,  while  the  creek  bed  for  a  mile  or  more  is  full  of  coal  and 
slate  debris.  Thousands  of  tons  of  excellent  anthracite  are  exposed,  which 
can  be  mined  at  a  trifling  expense — not  over  50  cents  per  ton.  One  tunnel  in 
fifty  feet  and  several  others  not  so  far  demonstrate  that  the  top  vein  grows 
thicker  as  progress  is  made.  The  deposit  is  overlaid  by  a  ledge  of  sandstone, 
which  makes  a  roof  almost  as  perfect  as  a  plastered  ceiling.  The  same  vein  is 
found  cropping  out  of  a  mountain  half  a  mile  east  of  the  creek.  A  geologist  who 
has  made  an  examination  of  the  deposit  states  that  the  different  veins  exposed  in 
the  creek  banks  probably  consolidate  a  short  distance  under  ground  and  form 
one  immense  bed  50  to  100  feet  thick.  Following  is  an  analysis  of  the  coal  as 
made  at  the  United  States  Assay  Office,  Denver:  Fixed  carbon, ^93;  water  and 
volatile  matter,  2;  ash,  5;  total,  100.  Compared  with  Pennsylvania  anthracite, 
this  coal  carries  the  palm.  It  is  not  quite  so  heavy,  but  the  average  of  several 
analysis  of  the  best  Pennsylvania  coal,  as  stated  by  Professor  Hayden,  shows  a 
smaller  percentage  of  fixed  carbon  than  the  Gunnison  article.  Following  is 
the  average  of  the  Pennsylvania  coal :  Fixed  carbon,  88.046;  ash,  7.661;  water 
and  volatile  matter,  5.811.  The  Denver,  South  Park  &  Pacific  Railroad  survey 
lies  within  easy  reach  of  the  Gunnison  anthracite,  and  the  road  will  probably 
be  completed  that  far  inside  of  eighteen  months.  Besides  supplying  a  heavy 
demand  throughout  the  Rocky  Mountains,  it  is  not  extravagant  to  anticipate 
coal  from  this  deposit  soon  going  to  the  prairie  States  of  the  Missouri  Valley, 
which  are  now  heavy  consumers  of  Pennsylvania  coal.  Our  trans-Missouri  rail- 
ways could  at  any  other  season  than  cattle-moving  times  well  afford  to  haul  coal 
from  this  region  to  Kansas  and  Nebraska  and  even  Western  Missouri  and  Iowa 
points  at  the  rate  charged  from,  say,  Reading  or  Pottsville,  considering  that 
they  pull  at  least  half  their  cars  eastward  empty.  Since  writing  my  last  letter 
I  have  learned  that  there  is  another  deposit  of  anthracite  coal  along  Rock 
Creek,  about  twenty-five  miles  north  of  Irwin,  those  two  being  the  only  ones 
yet  discovered  in  all  the  vast  country  lying  between  Pennsylvania  and  the  Pacific 
Ocean. 

EVERY  NEW-COMER  A  PROSPECTOR. 

Ruby  Camp,  like  all  others  remote  from  smelting  works  and  having  high 
freight  rates  to  pay  on  all  ores  shipped,  should  hardly  be  judged  in  the  light  of 
its  past  or  even  present  production.  Its  history,  a  series  of  discouragements 
thus  far,  needs  only  to  be  briefly  touched  to  show  that  the  richest  mining  dis- 
tricts in  the  world  may  struggle  along  a  year  without  attracting  special  atten- 
tion. As  already  noted,  the  first  discoveries  were  made  but  little  more  than 
one  year  ago.  The  first  ore  uncovered  was  so  fabulously  rich  that  every  miner 
or  new-comer  became  a  prospector — he  would  not  work  for  others  in  a  region 
that  offered  such  a  seductive  showing  for  him  soon  to  become  an  employer.  It 
was  then  clearly  impossible  for  any  mine-owner  to  develop  his  "  prospect,"  no 
matter  what  wages  he  would  offer  for  the  muscle.  Lumber  for  timbering  shafts 


16  GUNNISON    AND    SAX    JUAN. 

or  making  other  necessary  improvements  was  not  obtainable  last  season  at  any 
price — it  was  selling  at  $200  p'er  1,000  feet  as  late  as  sixty  days  ago.  There  was 
no  market  for  ores  last  season,  and  no  way  to  take  them  to  the  railroad,  even 
if  they  were  worth  $1  per  pound.  At  present  ores  must  pay  a  tribute  of  from 
$35  to  $45  per  ton  freightage  to  Pueblo  and  Denver,  and  the  expense  of  smelt- 
ing is  from  $25  to  $40  per  ton.  Adding  these  sums  and  you  have  a  larger  figure 
than  the  ores  of  any  mining  camp  in  Colorado  will  yield  on  an  average. 

TIME 8   THAT  TEIED  MEN'S    SOULS. 

To  totally  stop  development,  just  as  the  assessment  work  (ten  feet  of  sink- 
ing) was  done  on  the  last  claims  last  fall,  the  Indian  troubles  commenced.  The 
woods  were  full  of  savages  who  set  fire  to  the  timber,  stole  stock,  picked  off 
straggling  miners,  and  sent  in  word  that  the  Thornburghand  Meeker  massacres 
were  only  the  beginning  if  the  pioneers  insisted  in  holding  the  country.  In  a 
few  weeks  scarcely  a  soul  was  left  of  the  thousands  who  had  roamed  the  hills. 
When  hostilities  ceased  the  snows  began  to  fall,  and  no  supplies  could  have 
been  brought  into  the  country  even  if  miners  had  been  willing  to  make  the 
long  tramp  back  here  from  the  Colorado  settlement  in  the  face  of  a  six  months' 
winter.  The  faithful  few  who  remained  lived  principally  on  "game  straight." 
Supplies  were  not  brought  in  until  last  May,  when  it  cost  $150  to  $200  per  ton 
to  freight  them  from  the  railroad  about  one  hundred  miles  away.  These  were 
carried  on  the  backs  of  the  indomitable  miners  for  the  last  dozen  miles.  The 
snow  laid  in  Irwin  from  ten  to  fifteen  feet  deep  up  to  May,  and  the  best  mining 
country  was  deluged  with  mud  and  water  until  about  July  1.  It  will  thus  be 
seen  that  there  has  really  been  no  mining  done  here  previous  to  six  weeks  ago.. 
The  old  games  of  "freeze-out,"  in  which  prosperous  owners  of  interests  in 
mines  always  take  more  or  less  time  to  crowd  out  poor  partners,  are  played  in 
Ruby  Camp  as  elsewhere.  Many  good  properties  will  on  this  account  lie  idle 
at  least  all  this  season. 

A    WOED   TO    CAPITALISTS. 

Again,  the  prospectors  here  generally  have  rather  an  exalted  idea  of  the 
value  of  their  claims,  because  so  many  ten-foot  holes  like  the  Forest  Quee*n,, 
Lead  Chief,  Bullion  King,  &c.,  have  sold  for  from  $50,000  to  $150,000  each. 
They  are  holding  for  like  prices,  and  spoil  mapy  a  sale  that  could  be  effected 
for  from  $5,000  to  $20,000.  A  word  to  capitalists  may  not  be  amiss  here. 
There  is  not  a  better  region  in  the  Rocky  Mountains  in  which  to  pick  up  claims 
that  promise  to  develop  into  good  paying  properties  at  a  depth  of  from  50  to 
200  feet  than  right  here  in  Ruby  Camp.  But  don't  come  now  to  buy.  About 
November  1,  when  the  average  prospector  has  an  almost  unconquerable  pen- 
chant for  getting  to  milder  climes,  and  when  Ms  stock  of  flour  and  bacon  has 
run  so  low  that  a  long  winter  of  want  stares  him  in  the  face,  and  when  he 
thoroughly  realizes  that  for  at  least  six  months  the  deep  snows  will  prevent  his 
looking  for  more  mines  and  also  prevent  the  capitalist  from  coming  in  to  buy 
those  he  already  owns,  you  can  strike  him  at  "bed-rock."  Then  a  few  hun- 
dreds will  accomplish  what  thousands  would  bartly  accomplish  now.  I  have 
in  mind  a  sale  that  was  consummated  for  $50,000  last  November  in  a  neighbor- 
ing district,  and  the  mine  was  held  firmly  at  $400,000  during  the  preceding  three 
months.  The  purchaser  made  $40,000  by  delaying  the  purchase  the  last  three 
weeks,  and  the  original  holders  were  constantly  improving  the  property  at  that. 


GUNNISON    AND    SAN    JUAN.  17 

This  line  of  action  will  apply  equally  well  to  speculations  in  town  lots  or  other 
property,  and  if  a  loan  is  effected  in  the  fall  hereabouts  the  borrower  is  for- 
tunate if  he  gets  it  on  good  security  at  anything  short  of  four  per  cent  per 

mouth. 

THE  DEDUCTION  OF  OEES. 

No  ores  are  yet  smelted  in  all  this  Gunnison  country,  although  several 
smelters  are  completed  and  under  way.  The  Goodeuough  Milling  and  Mining 
Company  are  erecting  a  30-ton  smelter  here,  embodying  the  best  principles  of 
the  dry-crushing  process.  Two  Bruckner  furnaces,  one  Blake  crusher,  six 
Morey  &  Sperry  amalgamating  pans  and  ten  750-pound  stamps  are  the  leading 
features  to  start  with,  and  the  buildings  and  125  horse-power  engine  will  admit 
of  doubling  the  capacity.  The  cost  will  be  $75,000.  Samples  of  ores  from  sev- 
eral of  the  twenty  mines  owned  by  the  company  were  submitted  to  the  Bal- 
bachs,  at  Newark,  N.  J.,  and  to  eminent  authority  at  New  York,  the  various 
tests  resulting  in  the  selection  of  this  machinery.  An  abundance  of  timber, 
building  rock,  sand  and  water  are  found  within  a  few  rods  of  these  works.  A 
Georgetown  (Col.)  smelting  firm  have  about  concluded  arrangements  for  the 
immediate  erection  here  of  extensive  works.  Of  the  smelting  works  at  Crested 
Butte  and  Scofield  I  shall  write  particularly  hereafter,  but  I  may  say  here  in  a 
general  way  that  vast  bodies  of  the  finest  pine  and  spruce  timber  I  have  seen  in 
the  Rockies  are  here ;  that  there  is  an  abundance  of  coking  and  anthracite 
coal,  lime  and  different  forms  of  iron  ore  for  fluxing,  splendid  water  power 
everywhere  and  a  good  variety  of  ores  in  various  camps  for  smelting;  in  fact 
that  nothing  seerns  wanting  in  the  way  of  natural  facilities  to  constitute  this  a 
perfect  field  for  the  reduction  of  ores  on  an  extensive  scale. 

LIVING  EXPENSES,  WAGES,  BENTS,  ETC. 

Expenses  of  living  at  Irwin  may  be  taken  as  an  average  throughout  the 
Gunnison  country — prices  at  the  town  of  Gunnison  being  somewhat  lower  and 
at  more  distant  camps  higher.  Board  and  lodging  is  quoted  $12  to  $15  per 
week;  day  board,  $7  to  $9;  single  meals  or  lodging,  50  to  75  cents;  "batch- 
ing," where  parties  do  their  own  cooking  in  their  own  cabins,  costs  $4  to  $6  per 
week;  an  Irwin  "hair-cut"  costs  75  cents;  baths,  $1.  Cottages  or  cabins  of 
three  rooms  each  are  in  demand  at  $15  to  $25  per  month ;  best  steaks,  25  cents 
per  pound;  bacou,  19  cents;  potatoes,  10  cents;  onions  and  cabbage,  12  1-2 
cents ;  butter,  45  to  60  cents ;  oats,  8  cents ;  corn,  8  cents  per  pound,  and  hay, 
$1CO  per  ton.  Rents  of  store?,  $50  to  $175  per  month;  of  lots  22-feet  front, 
£25  per  month.  Hotels  and  lodging  houses  are  thus  far  either  mere  shells  or 
tents.  Miners  and  good  mechanics  of  every  class  are  in  demand,  wages  run- 
ning about  as  follows:  Miners,  underground,  $4  per  day;  on  surface,  $3.50; 
blacksmiths  and  machinists,  $4;  carpenters,  $3.50;  bricklayers,  masons  and 
plasterers,  $5;  laborers,  teamsters,  &c.,  $2.50. 

IND  US  TE  Y  EE  WAEDED. 

Irwin  boasts  about  300  buildings  and  75  business  firms,  who  seem  to  drive 
a  good  trade.  About  3,500  men  get  mail  at  the  Irwin  postoffice.  The  latter  is 
alike  a  curiosity  and  credit  to  its  present  governing  official,  Mr.  "W.  L.  G.  Soule. 
This  gentleman  was  one  of  the  few  who  held  the  fort  all  last  winter,  and  his 
ofilce  was  for  months  at  a  time  ten  to  fifteen  feet  under  the  snow.  Business 
was  of  course  dull,  and  Mr.  Soule,  anticipating  the  rush  of  this  summer,  whit- 
tled out  168  "boxes"  for  regular  patrons  and  a  large  case  of  pigeon-holes  for 
the  "general  delivery"  with  his  pocket  knife .  The  department  has  never  fur- 
2 


13  GUNNISON    AND    SAN    JUAN. 

nislxed  him  a  pair  of  scales,  so  he  improvised  them  with  two  tin  plates  for  plat- 
ters, wire  from  a  broom-handle  connecting  them  with  the  wooden  beam,  which 
balances  nicely  on  a  section  of  an  old  knife  blade.  He  also  made  his  own 
weights  out  of  scraps  of  metal..  The  office  is  often  out  of  stamps  for  weeks  at 
a  time,  and  is  a  boss  borrower,  although  it  deserves  to  rank  as  second  class. 
Soule  pined  for  other  worlds  to  conquer  after  rigging  up  the  paraphernalia  de- 
scribed above,  and  finally  went  to  whittling  out  snow-shoes  at  $3  per  pair.  He 
succeeded  in  buying  several  lots  near  his  office  from  the  proceeds  at  $10  a  piece, 
and  he  is  now  selling  them  at  from  $800  to  $1,500  each.  During  the  winter  he 
lived  on  flour  and  water — the  former  being  carried  thirty  miles  on  the  backs  of 
miners  and  selling  at  $30  to  $40  per  100  pounds. 


CRESTED  BTJTTE. 


THIRD  LETTER— THE  FUTURE   SMELTING   CENTRE   OF  THE  GUNNI- 
SON  COUNTRY— SILVER,  LEAD,  IRON  AND  COKING  COAL. 

CRESTED  BUTTE,  COLORADO,  September  1,  1880. 

Journeying  eastward  down  Coal  Creek  Valley,  eight  miles  from  Ruby  Camp, 
we  find  Crested  Butte,  the  point  generally  accepted  as  the  future  smelting' centre 
of  the  Gunnison  country.  The  village  of  some  300  souls  is  romantically  located 
at  the  junction  of  Coal  Creek,  Slate  River  and  Washington  Gulch.  High  moun- 
tains, covered  with  a  heavy  growth  of  pine  and  spruce,  rise  abruptly  above  it 
on  the  west,  and  a  beautiful  meadow  stretches  off  a  mile  to  the  east,  where  the 
sharp  pinnacled  mountain  which  gives  the  town  its  name  makes  its  almost  ver- 
tical rise  of  nearly  4,000  feet.  The  altitude  of  the  town  is  about  8,500  feet.  An 
important  mineral  belt  on  the  east,  west  and  north  slopes  gradually  towards  the 
valley  of  Slate  River  and  Crested  Butte  as  a  common  centre.  Peeler  Basin,  Oh 
Be  Joyful  Gulch,  Slate  River  Basin,  Poverty  Gulch,  Washington  Gulch,  Red  Well 
Basin,  Coal  Creek  Basin  and  other  producers  of  heavy  galena  ores  are  all  reached 
from  Crested  Butte  by  water  grade  at  distances  varying  from  two  to  five  miles.  / 
The  ore  from  the  surrounding  mines  (except  from  Peeler  Basin)  although  not 
so  high  grade  as  much  of  the  Ruby  district  ore,  is  far  less  refractory,  and  Ij  ing 
in  usually  large  bodies,  will  be  cheaply  mined.  It  also  carries  a  very  large  per- 
centage of  lead  which  adapts  it  admirably  for  treatment  in  connection  with  the 
dry  ores  of  adjoining  camps.  The  Coal  Creek  mines  on  the  east,  which  line  the 
road  almost  all  the  way  to  Ruby  Camp,  eight  miles  away,  show  heavy  galena 
ores  two  to  six  feet  wide  running  from  40  to  70  per  cent  lead  and  30  to  100 
ounces  silver  per  ton.  North  of  Coal  Creek  two  or  three  miles  is  Oh  Be  Joyful 
Gulch,  with  its  tributaries  Peeler  and  Red  Well  basins.  The  Peeler  Basin  veins 
thus  far  attract  the  more  attention  because  they  are  developing  ore  almost  iden- 
tical in  character  and  richness  with  those  of  Ruby  Camp.  They  show  fine 

MASSES  OF  RUBY  AND  NATIVE  SILVER, 

as  well  as  the  refractory  elements,  arsenical  iron,  zinc  and  antimony.  Red'Well 
Basin  abounds  in  tremendous  fissure  veins  of  low-grade  lead  ores  which  are 
steadily  improving  in  richness  as  depth  is  attained.  The  Colorado  State  is  a 
promising  claim,  showing  at  the  breast  of  a  50-foot  tunnel  six  feet  of  ore, 
which  assays  from  10  to  50  ounces.  A  $10,000  sale  of  a  group  of  Red  Well 


.ii  AN.  1  !* 

iuiiM->  ha*,  ju.st.  brrn  uid  the  owner  will  push  developments  rapidly  the 

coming  winter.     Poverty   Gulch,  next   north  of  the    basins    ju>t   named,  ratlier 

ii>  name,  considering  that  it    is  now  sending  out  ore  from  the  Yankee 

ami  other  claims  which  carries  500  and  000  ounces  of  silver.     Stre.-i 

•upper  in  these  veins  a>say  up  to  $1,400  per  ton,  and  carry  the  general 

avi-ranv  to  a    neat   liiiuro.     Slate  River  Basin  and  tributaries,  lying  north  of 

1  Hutu-  t»Mi  miles,  boast  of  some  very  good  "prospects,"  the  Iowa,  Daisy 

and  Forsaken,  I  believe,  having  changed  hands  at  good  figures.     The  former  is 

shown  by  an  open  cut  to  be  some  thirty  feet  wide.    Three  veins  of  galena  ore, 

eight  inches  to  three  feet  wide,  running  100  ounces  in  silver,  and  other  smaller 

seams  of  equal  richness  are  found  diffused  throughout  the  crevices. 

WASHINGTON  GULCH  MINES. 

Washington  Gulch,  six  miles  north  of  Crested  Butte,  in  which  gulch  mining 
operations  have  been  carried  on  with  good  results  for  twenty  years,  is  rapidly 
turning  into  a  lirst-class. quartz  camp.  But  one  placer  claim  is  being  worked — 
result,  $5  to  $10  per  day  to  the  man — while  the  hills  surrounding  are  resound- 
ing with  echoes  of  pick  and  blast.  The  Elk  Mountain  Gold  and  Silver  Mining 
Company,  composed  largely  of  Atchison,  Topeka  and  Santa  Fe  Railroad  men^ 
own  eleven  promising  claims.  The  best  showing  thus  far  is  made  upon  the 
Highland  and  Gypsy,  both  being  down  nearly  100  feet  and  showing  well-defined 
true  fissure  veins.  Native  gold,  silver,  ruby  silver  and  black  sulphurets  of  silver 
are  found  in  small  veins.  Four  lots  of  ore,  claimed  by  the  company  to  be  aver- 
age grades  from  four  diflerent  mines,  ran  as  follows  at  the  Philadelphia  Mint: 
Gypsy  lode,  250  ounces  of  silver  per  ton;  Highland,  550;  Gavitt,  650  and 
Miner's  Delight,  040  ounces  silver  per  ton.  The  Baxter  lode  shows  wonderful 
assays,  400  ounces  silver  and  $450  in  gold  being  the  result  of  one  of  them.  A 
300-foot  tunnel  on  the  Miner's  Delight  is  about  to  place  that  property  in  excel- 
lent trim  for  a  good  yield.  About  every  camp  in  the  Gunnison  country  claims 
to  have  found  carbonates,  and  Washington  Gulch  is  no  exception.  But  the 
showing  is  thus  far  so  small  here  that  it  is  hardly  worth  noting.  A  capitalist 
named  Hayden  is  preparing  to  open  some  of  the  extensive  bars  of  the  gulch 
with  hydraulics,  and  his  large  outlay  to  lead  the  necessary  water  supply  where 
it  is  wanted  will  enable  him  to  break  ground  in  good  earnest  next  season. 

In  my  perambulations  here  I  find  numerous  large  veins  of  galena  ores  whose 
croppings  will  yield  50  to  70  ounces  silver  per  ton,  and  30  to  75  per  cent  lead — 
these  would  be  bonanzas  in  the  northern  part  of  Colorado,  almost  anywhere 
within  100  miles  of  Denver — and  there  are  at  least  twenty-five  prospects  or 
mines  in  the  districts  noted  above  that  in  thirty  days  could  be  placed  in  condi- 
tion to  yield  20  tons  of  ore  each,  worth  on  an  average  $90  per  ton.  The  prin- 
cipal trouble  is,  every  man  is  "mine-poor."  The  average  prospector,  be  he 
tenderfoot  or  old-timer,  would  in  his  greed  "  to  own  the  country"  sooner 
hunt  for  ten  mines  and  starve  sinking  a  ten-foot  hole  (which  he  knows  few  in- 
telligent capitalists  will  look  at)  on  each  of  them,  than  to  concentrate  his  ener- 
gies in  doing  100  feet  of  work  on  one  good  prosnect  with  a  show  not  only  of 
taking  good  wages  out  of  every  foot  of  ore,  but  of  selling  his  single  developed 
property  at  a  handsome  figure. 

EICH  IRON   OEE8  AND    WONDERFUL  MARBLE  QUARRIES. 
Along  Coal  Creek,  two  miles  east  of  Crested  Butte,  amid  some  of  the  best 
silver  mines,  is  an  iron  swamp  covering  500  acres.    The  bog  will  average  ten 
feet  in  depth  and  is  60  per  cent  iron.     It  is  entirely  free  from  silica  or  other 


20  GUNNISON    AND    SAN    JUAN. 

matter  that  would  prevent  an  easy  convex sion  into  what  is  known  as  second- 
class  iron  in  commerce.  It  is  at  present  valuable  only  as  a  flux  at  the  Crested 
Butte  Smelting  Works.  Along  Slate  River,  eight  miles  north  of  Crested  Butte, 
is  a  fine  deposit  of  perfectly  pure  hematite,  and  in  an  opposite  direction,  about 
the  same  distance,  magnetic  iron  of  a  wonderful  strength  is  scattered  over  the 
sides  of  a  steep  mountain.  Deposits  of  red  hematite  are  also  found  in  Oh  Be 
Joyful  Gulch,  four  miles  away.  A  superb  white  limestone,  also  utilized  by  the 
smelter,  and  a  pure  bluish  limestone  in  inexhaustible  quantities  are  found  four 
miles  away.  Slate  River  gets  its  name  from  the  large  deposits  of  excellent 
slate  found  along  it.  East  River,  six  miles  distant,  also  abounds  in  this  article. 
Both  deposits  are  of  a  superior  quality,  especially  for  roofing  purposes — an 
item  worthy  of  note  in  connection  with  the  fact  that  the  entire  slate  supply  of 
the  Plains  and  Rocky  Mountains  comes  from  far  east  of  the  Mississippi.  Be- 
tween the  head  of  Slate  River  and  Rock  Creek,  on  the  north  side  of  the  main 
Elk  Mountain,  and  on  a  spur  of  the  latter  called  Crystal  Mountain,  is  a  vast 
deposit  of  most  beautiful  marble.  The  deposit  is  seemingly  the  basin  of  an 
extinct  volcano,  and  consists  of  mammoth  ledges  of  crystalized  or  granular 
marble  of  almost  every  !?hade  and  color,  and  of  great  variety  of  texture,  from 
the  finest  Italian  to  the  coarsest  grained,  soft  yellow.  The  purest  white  and 
most  delicate  shades  of  pink  are  represented,  some  of  these  taking  an  exquisite 

finish. 

COAL,  MOST  IMPORTANT  OF  ALL. 

These  various  items,  important  and  interesting  as  they  may  be,  sink  into 
insignificance  when  compared  to  Crested  Butte's  vast  measures  of  coking  coal. 
The  coal  is  plainly  exposed  on  both  banks  of  Coal  Creek  in  the  outskirts  of  the 
village,  and  the  vein  now  worked,  five  to  seven  feet  thick,  evidently  underlies 
several  thousand  acres.  A  tunnel  is  in  twenty-five  feet  on  the  left  bank,  and 
one  over  200  feet  on  the  right  bank  of  the  stream.  From  the  latter  the  coal  is 
conveyed  on  cars  to  a  level  plat  along  the  stream  100  yards  below,  and  there 
burned  in  the  open  air  in  small  pyramidal  heaps  into  coke.  The  coal  resembles 
Blossburg  coal,  and  is  75  per  cent  coke.  Following  is  the  analysis :  Water,  1.55 ; 
volatile  matter,  22.80 ;  fixed  carbon,  68.70 ;  ash,  7 ;  total,  100.  The  coke  contains 
three-tenths  of  1  per  cent  sulphur,  and  11. 04  per  cent  ash.  Assayersand  smelt- 
ers who  have  nested  the  coke  say  it  is  so  near  equal  to  the  best  Pennsylvania  ar- 
ticle that  the  importation  of  the  latter  will  cease  when  the  railroad  gets  within 
twenty-five  miles  of  Crested  Butte.  This  coke  is  used  throughout  the  Gunnison 
country  and  is  sold  at  the  mines  for  from  $7  to  $8  per  ton.  The  coal  is  greatly 
prized  for  use  in  forges.  The  Iowa  Mining  and  Smelting  Company  owns  320 
acres;  the  Denver  &  Rio  Grande  Railway,  1,000  acres,  and  Judge  Grant,  of 
the  Leadville  Smelting  works,  160  acres  of  these  coal  lands. 

The  Iowa  Mining  and  Smelting  Company,  Howard  F.  Smith,  superintendent, 
has  invested  $100,000  in  coal  lands,  smelting  works  and  other  property  at 
Crested  Butte,  and  affords  about  the  only  market  yet  established  for  Gunnison 
ores.  The  smelting  works  are  simply  designed  for  reducing  ores  into  base  or 
lead  bullion,  using  calcining  and  blast  furnaces.  The  present  capacity  is  twelve 
tons  per  day  and  the  buildings  are  so  constructed  as  to  afford  ample  room  for 
more  than  doubling  the  out-put.  At  present  the  company  is  engaged  principally 
in  buying  and  sampling  ores  for  shipment  to  Colorado  and  Eastern  smelting  and 
refining  works.  As  an  evidence  of  the  general  good  grade  of  ores  handled  here 
I  will  add  that  the  thousands  of  assays  made  this  summer  from  hundreds  of  dif- 
ferent mines  and  prospects,  the  samples,  of  course,  coming  from  all  sorts  of 


(il'NNTSON    AND    SAN    .IT  AN.  21 

rock  from  the  surface  down,  have  shown  an  average  yield  of  36.4  ounces  silver 
to  the  ton;  omitting  all  that  ran  less  than  fifteen  ounces  the  average  came  to 

ONE  HUNDRED  AND  FORTY  OUNCES  SILVER  PER  TON. 

These  assays  included  only  the  heavy  galena  ores  of  the  Crested  Butte 
country,  and  included  none  of  the  very  rich  shipments  or  specimens  that  were 
received  from  Ruby  Camp. 

A  mile  and  a  half  north  of  Crested  Butte,  in  a  romantic  dell  along  Slate 
River,  are  some  cold  white  sulphur  springs.  The  waters  are  recommended  as 
universally  efficacious,  and  their  strength  is  to  some  extent  indicated  by  the 
flakes  of  pure  white  sulphur  which  coat  everything  they  come  in  contact  with. 
Near  by  is  a  beautiful  lake,  as  blue  and  for  aught  the  residents  know  as  deep  as 
the  open  sea.  Four  miles  from  the  village,  on  Cement  Creek,  are  hot  and  cold 
soda  springs  which  together  throw  off  enough  water  to  heal  a  multitude.  These 
valuable  properties  are,  I  believe,  as  yet  unclaimed,  but  the  ambitious  Colo- 
radoan  will  probably  soon  have  them  fenced,  covered  up  or  dammed  for  the 
good  of  suffering  humanity  and  his  pocket.  What  with  its  magnificent  scenery, 
its  comparatively  low  altitude,  these  various  mineral  springs  and  its  proximity 
to  some  of  the  best  fishing  in  the  land,  as  well  as  to  the  favorite  haunts  of  bear, 
deer  and  mountain  sheep,  Crested  Butte  should  upon  the  approach  of  the  iron 
horse  attract  many  besides  mere  searchers  for  the  silver  dollar.  Crested  Butte 
Is  about  thirty  miles  from  Gunnison  City  and  ninety  from  the  nearest  railroad 
point.  The  indications  are  that  one  narrow-gauge  line  at  least  will  be  here 
by  August,  1881. 


GOTHIC  AND  ROCK  CREEK. 


FOURTH  LETTER— THE  SYLVANITE— HOW  OBADTAH  SANDS,  OF  CHI- 
CAGO, STRUCK  IT  RICH  WHEN  BANKRUPT  IN  HEALTH  AND 
PURSE— A  SPLENDID  FIELD  FOR  THE  PROSPECTOR. 

GOTHIC  CITY,  COLORADO,  September  5th,  1880. 

Rocky  Mountain  mining  camps  are  phenomenally  alike  in  one  important 
respect.  Each  swears  by  one  great  mine.  There  may  be  a  thousand  claims  re- 
corded in  the  camp,  and  every  owner  with  a  sharp  eye  to  busines  declares  his 
particular  property  is  a  bonanza.  But  simmer  it  all  down  to  a  question  of  su- 
periority upon  the  part  of  one  camp  over  another,  and  you  mass  its  sentiment 
forthwith  upon  one  great  leading  mine  "  that  is  the  biggest  thing  in  the  world, 
sir."  Gothic  is  a  peculiar  illustration  of  this.  It  has  the  "Sylvanite  "  mine, 
perched  like  an  eagle's  eyrie  among  towering  cliffs  far  above  "  timber  line,"  five 
miles  away,  which  it  stands  ready  to  pit  against  any  treasure  vault  yet  uncovered 
in  the  Rockies.  There  is  no  more  seductive  bit  of  mining  history  than  that 
linked  with  this  wonderful  property — a  property  to  which  the  flourishing  town 
owes  its  existence— and  as  I  have  had  long  and  close  acquaintance  with  the 
central  figure  I  can  vouch  for  e\ery  word  of  it. 

Obadiah  Sands,  well  known  all  over  the  West,  for  a  number  of  years  past 
as  the  proprietor  of  the  Sands  House,  Chicago,  was  stricken  down  several  years 
ago  with  dangerous  nervous  disorders — plainly  the  result  of  overwork — and  as 
a  consequence  relinquished  his  business,  temporarily  as  he  thought,  to  other 


Z2  (,  rNNISON    AND    SAX    JUAN. 

hands,  going  to  a  noted  health  resort  fora  season.  The  "  other  hands  "  ruined 
not  only  his  business  but  plunged  the  institution  almost  hopelessly  into 
debt,  and  Sands  returned  to  Chicago,  unimproved  in  health,  to  find  himself  worse 
than  "dead  broke."  Giring  up  lus  business  there,  he  borrowed  a  hundred  or 
two  from  a  relative,  and  in  the  wint"r  of  1879  came  to  Colorado  on  a  mattress, 
as  he  now  expresses  it,  "  to  die."  Upon  reaching'  Canon  City,  with  a  shattered 
constitution,  with  a  family  behind  evidently  destined  to  soon  come  to  want,  and 
no  lack  of  creditors  to  haunt  him,  he  grasped  at  the  first  straw  that  presented 
itself ;  that  was 

MINING  BY  PROXY. 

John  and  David  Jennings,  old  hunters  and  prospectors,  happened  to  be 
wintering  at  Caflon  City,  and  a  chance  acquaintance  formed  with  them  finally 
budded  into  an  arrangement  by  which  they  were  to  start  for  the  then  almost 
mythical  Gunnison  country  early  in  the  spring,  taking  about  all  the  money  he 
had  as  a  "grub  stake,"  and  agreeing  to  give  him  half  of  everything  found  if  he 
would  regularly  contribute  $80  per  month  towards  keeping  up  expenses.  They 
had  not  completed  their  first  month's  work  when  Sands  was  informed  that  they 
had  "struck  it  rich,"  and  was  requested  to  come  into  the  wilderness,  a  dis- 
tance of  200  miles,  to  see  for  himself.  The  Colorado  climate  had  meanwhile 
restored  his  health — to  such  an  extent,  at  least,  that  he  was  able  to  walk  as 
much  of  the  way  as  was  necessary.  The  discovery  was  made  May  28,  1879,  and 
by  midsummer  Sands,  without  investing  a  dollar  above  the  value  of  ore  taken 
out,  had  concluded  arrangements  for  the  sale  of  a  large  portion  of  his  half  to 
David  H.  Sherman,  of  New  York  City;  Ira  D.  Warren,  present  secretary  of  the 
company;  Dr.  Linderman,  Mr.  Dutcher,  (one  of  Vanderbilt's  right-hand  men,) 
and  others,  his  different  sales  of  "Sylvanite"  bringing  him  nearly  $100,000  in 
cash,  and  the  profits  of  the  mine  with  his  present  small  holding  of  stock  adding 
a  good  many  thousands  as  his  net  result  of  a  seemingly  hopeless  Colorado  trip 
four  months  before  and  an  investment  of  $80.  As  you  may  suppose,  this  finan- 
cial aspect  cuts  a  small  figure  when  compared  with  his  recovery  in  this  glorious 
atmosphere  of  the  priceless  boon,  health.  When  I  left  him  a  few  hours  ago, 
with  his  eyes  glistening  with  tears  of  gratitude  as  he  dwelt  upon  this  point,  I 
was  satisfied  that  at  least  one  man  in  Gunnison  had  indeed  "struck  it  rich." 
Sands  is  now  in  the  banking  business  here  and  owns  half  of  the  best  store  in 
the  place,  as  well  as  a  fine  lot  of  real  estate  here  and  in  the  vicinity. 

THE    SYLVANITE  A   MINERAL    WONDER. 

The  Sylvanite  is  located  five  miles  northeast  of  Gothic  on  the  east  side  of 
Silver  Mountain,  and  near  the  head  of  Copper  Creek.  It  is  11,700  feet  above  the 
sea,  and  at  least  500  feet  above  "timber-line."  A  chunk  of  arsenical  iron  lying 
among  the  "drift"  or  loose  rock,  nearly  1,000  feet  below  the  present  site,  first 
attracted  the  attention  of  the  Jennings  Brothers  to  the  locality,  and  putting  it 
under  a  blow-pipe  beautiful  globules  of  silver  came  to  the  surface.  A  few 
hours  later  (on  May  28,  1879,)  the  discovery  was  made  by  their  simply  follow- 
ing the  enticing  trails  of  detached  masses  of  "blossom  rock"  (croppings  of  the 
vein)  up  hill  to  the  source.  The  wonderfully  rugged  mountain  here  seems  to 
culminate  in  one  vast  upheaval  of  brownish  iron-stained  rock,  fabulously  rich 
in  silver,  and  whose  limits  thus  far  baffles  all  attempts  at  calculation,  while 
hundreds  of  acres  of  the  precipitous  range  below  are  covered  with  ore  and 
surface  stuff  representing  the  crumbling  of  ages.  The  vein,  if  there  is  one, 
runs  northeast  and  southwest,  and  such  foreign  rock  as  has  been  found  (lean- 


<.i  .11   AN'.  23 

not  designate  it  a>  ''wall-ror.k,"  as  tin  iv  aiv  im  \vt-l!  di-llm-d  walK  yet)  is 
mainly  inetaiiiorphir  -!at<-  ami  <|Uart/ite.  Ore  worth 

/•'/,' o.V  £/00    TO  $20,000   PER  TON. 

is  found  in  several  vein*,  from  0  inches  to  2  feet  thick.  The  entire  croppings 
of  this  mine,  deposit,  chimney,  or  whatever  experts  will  in  time  call  it,  pro- 
trude from  a  dozen  to  100  feet  above  the  surface  proper,  and  are  from  50  to  150 
feet  wide  throughout  the  entire  length  of  the  claim,  1,500  feet.  A  charred  and 
twisted  appearance  of  the  entire  mass  bespeaks  terrific  volcanic  action.  The 
pay  material  consists  of  native  silver,  sulphurets  of  silver,  ruby  silver  and 
traces  of  horn  silver,  and  the  ore  thus  far  shipped  has  yielded  from  four  to  seven- 
tenths  of  an  ounce  of  gold  per  ton.  A  very  little  arsenic  and  sulphur  is  pres- 
ent, but  not  a  trace  of  galena,  and  the  ore  is  practically  a  "free  smelting"  pro- 
duct, yielding  readily  to  the  more  simple  formulas  known  in  the  art  of  smelt- 
ing. The  developments  are  three  tunnel?,  the  longest,  100  feet,  opening  out 
the  ore-body  finely  at  a  depth  of  70  feet.  A  shaft  is  being  sunk  from  the  bot- 
tom of  the  main  tunnel,  40  feet  from  the  entrance,  but  has  only  progressed  a 
few  feet. 

The  Sylvanite  shows  for  at  least  a  thousand  feet  upon  the  surface  and  in 
all  the  openings  just  noted  the  richest  silver  ore  I  have  ever  seen  in  large 
masses,  not  even  excepting  the  famous  Silver  Islet  vein  in  the  Lake  Superior 
country.  While  I  was  at  the  mine  a  blast  broke  down  about  a  ton  of  ore  in  the  *• 
breast  of  the  100-foot  tunnel,  and  I  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  four  quartz 
nuggets  brought  out,  and  since  conveyed  hither  on  the  backs  of  mules  and  on 
"  slides,"  all  the  result  of  that  one  blast,  which  are  a  small  fortune  in  them- 
selves. No.  1  weighs  600  pounds,  and  by  scientific  tests  shows  a  valuation  of 
$4,000  in  silver;  No.  2  weighs  120  pounds,  and  contains  $950;  No.  3  weighs  60 
pounds,  value  $537,  and  the  other,  a  forty  pounder,  is  as  rich  as  any.  These, 
with  1,000  pounds  of  other  specimens  from  the  Sylvanite,  showing  silver  in  all 
the  attractive  forms  nature  has  given  it,  are  to  go  to  Chicago,  there  to  be  gazed 
at  a  few  weeks  and  thence  to  New  York  for  the  special  benefit  of  some  of  the 
Leadville  operators  who  have  been  crying  "  Gunnison  gone."  About  two  tons 
of  ore  wheeled  out  the  morning  of  my  visit  exhibited 

NATIVE  AND  EUBY  SILVER   IN  EVERY  POUND. 

Nuggets  of  pure  silver  as  large  as  grains  of  wheat  were  seen  in  many 
places.  To  regale  me  in  this  prosy  matter  of  jotting  down  hard  facts,  I  have  be- 
fore me  one  ingot  of  nearly  pure  silver  weighing  a  pound  and  a  half,  and  at  the 
mines  sat  on  two  sacks  of  ore  weighing  about  eighty-five  pounds  each  and  con- 
taining $800  silver  per  sack.  One  shipment  of  400  sacks  of  ore — about  twelve 
tons— that  has  been  carefully  sampled  will  average  $3,500  to  the  ton.  A  car- 
load of  this  class  of  material  will  reach  the  Balbach  works  at  Newark,  N.  J., 
about  the  time  this  letter  appears,  and  will,  according  to  careful  estimate,  pan 
out  $40,000.  The  ore  as  now  assorted  from  the  22-inch  pay  streak  in  the  main 
tunnel,  yields  as  follows:  First  class,  $6,000  to  the  ton ;  second  class,  $2,500, 
and  third  class,  $75  per  ton.  The  superintendent  was  just  in  the  midst  of  the 
agreeable  task  of  taking  out  $100,000  worth  of  ore  at  an  expense,  he  said,  of 
$16,000,  the  ore  product  coming  mainly  from  tunnels,  and  the  latter  sum  repre- 
senting his  entire  expense  of  sinking,  driving  tunnels  and  other  "  dead  work" 
for  this  fall. 

Thus  far  the  ore  has  gone  mainly  to  the  Pueblo  Smelting  Works,  this  State. 
Freight  thither  is  about  $35  per  ton,  and  smelting  $75  to  $100  per  ton.  Com- 


24         ,  GUNNISON    AND    SAN    JTJAN. 

fortable  houses  are  being  built,  and  supplies  taken  to  the  same  to  insure 
steady  work  all  winter  at  even  that  great  altitude.  Some  twenty-five  men  are 
employed.  No  great  amount  of  ore  will  be  shipped  until  a  wagon-road  is  con- 
structed nearer  the  mine.  Oily  a  trail  leads  there  now,  and  all  supplies  and 
ores  must  be  packed  five  miles  up  or  down  a  steep  grade.  Over  three  thousand 
feet  in  altitude  is  gained  in  the  five  miles,  and  the  transportation  problem  is  at 
present  the  worst  of  all.  Even  water  must  be  carried  on  mules  from  a  snow- 
bank 500  feet  below,  and  heavy  timber  a  much  greater  distance.  A  road  can 
be  built,  however,  at  comparatively  small  cost  to  within  1,000  feet  of  the  mine, 
and  the  plan  is  to  bridge  this  distance  with  wire  tramway. 

THE  NEW  OWNERS. 

The  mine  is  held  entirely  by  men  of  wealth,  who  could  well  afford  to  make 
these  improvements  upon  a  much  poorer  guarantee  than  the  Sylvanite  gives. 
Captain  James  M.  Ballentine,  for  twenty  years  prominently  identified  with 
steamboating  enterprises  at  Chicago,  is  managing  director  5  Samuel  W.  Aller- 
ton,  a  millionaire  live  stock  dealer  of  Chicago,  Buffalo,  and  other  points,  and 
T.  M.  Avery,  President  of  the  Elgin  Watch  Company,  with  the  original  pur- 
chasers of  the  Smds  interest,  already  named,  are  prominent  owners.  The 
-Jennings  Brothers  sold  out  early  last  fall,  realizing  enough  to  enable  them  to 
live  handsomely  anywhere  the  balance  of  their  days.  The  mine  is  capitalized 
.at  $4,000,000,  divided  into  80,000  shares  of  $50  each.  It  needs  no  expert  to 
•demonstrate  that  if  the  mine  maintains  its  present  strength  and  richness  to  a 
-depth  of  even  200  or  300  feet,  it  is  alone  enough  to  turn  the  attention  of  the 
mining  world  very  strongly  upon  Gunnison.  I  should  add  that  this  company, 
which  is  known  as  the  Ruby  Silver  Mining  and  Smelting  Company,  owns  a  half 
•dozen  or  more  claims  adjoining  the  Sylvanite,  their  ground  measuring  1,500 
Tleet  each  way,  and  Jack  Haverly  owns  what  he  calls  the  Sylvanite  extension, 
;just  over  the  top  of  the  mountain.  He  his  made  no  developments  of  note, 

OTHER  RICH  STRIKES. 

The  Great  Western,  Catapult,  Grey  Copper  and  Indian  Girl  are  prominent 
-silver  quartz  claims  immediately  surrounding  the  Sylvanite.  The  Grey  Copper 
makes  an  excellent  showing  of  ore,  similar  to  that  in  the  Sylvanite,  and  is  being 
placed  in  fine  producing  trim  by  a  force  of  about  twenty-five  men.  In  the  im- 
mediate vicinity  is  a  noteworthy  iron  deposit,  masses  of  which  I  found  scat- 
tered along  our  trail,  that  are  from  80  to  90  per  cent  pure  iron.  While  on  the 
subject  of  iron  I  will  mention  that  a  deposit  of  vast  extent  of  hematite,  called 
the  Mammoth  Mine,  averaging  41  per  cent  iron,  and  a  trace  of  gold  and  silver, 
is  being  opened  two  and  a  half  miles  northeast  of  Gothic.  It  is  a  true  fissure 
vein,  nearly  vertical,  and  measures  from  20  to  3  feet  between  walls.  Its  pro- 
duct is  to  be  utilized,  partially  as  a  flux  and  partially  for  the  gold  and  silver  con- 
tained, in  the  smelting  works  just  starting  here. 

A  mile  and  a  half  northeast  of  Gothic  is  the  Virginia  silver  mine,  next  to 
the  Sylvanite.  probably  the  best  claim  in  the  camp.  Messrs.  Holmes  &  Co.  are 
pushing  developm3nts  upon  it  with  unusual  zeal  and  are  really  having  an  easy 
time  of  it,  as  the  ore  comes  out  almost  as  readily  as  the  Leadville  sand  carbon- 
ates, only  pick  and  shovel  being  called  into  requisition.  The  pay  vein  is  ex- 
posed by  an  open  cut  for  65  feet,  averaging  30  inches  in  thickness,  and 
yielding  black  and  gray  sulphurets  of  silver  worth  $250  per  ton.  Two  to 
three  tons  of  ore  are  taken  out  daily  and  the  mine  is  being  placed  in  condition 
to  yield  heavily  this  winter.  The  claim  was  recently  bought  for  $10,000,  an 


.       GUNNISON    AND    SAN    JUAN.  25 

amount  that  could  easily  be  produced  from  it  in  a  weejc  if  an  effort  was  made. 
The  lowest  grade  of  ore  taken  from  the  Virginia  assays  175  ounces  silver  and 
the  product  could  be  sorted  up  to  $2,600  to  $3,000  per  ton.  Other  good  claims 
in  the  immediate  vicinity  might  be  named,  and  then  in  Bunn's  Basin,  Silver 
Queen  Basin,  Brush  Creek  and  other  districts  from  three  to  ten  miles  away  are 
numerous  "prospects"  yielding  grey  copper,  native  and  ruby  silver.  Some  in- 
teresting  developments  have  been  made  about  five  miles  east  of  Gothic,  in  the 
vicinity  of  Washington  Gulch,  within  the  past  few  days.  The  Luona  claim,  a 
quite  recent  discovery,  is  producing  fine  masses  of  wire  and  horn  silver.  A 
specimen  just  brought  in  from  the  mine,  weighing  about  10  pounds,  consists 
of  heavy  wires  of  native  silver,  and  is  valued  at  $125.  The  Mammoth  Belsey, 
Ore  Cash  and  Eureka,  in  the  same  locality,  have  recently  changed  hands  at  re- 
spectable figures,  the  Eureka  selling  at  $90,000,  and  one-flfth  of  the  Belsey  for 
$22,000.  The  Broad  Gauge,  another  late  discovery,  is  yielding  ore  that  runs 
78  ounces  silver  and  3  ounces  gold  to  the  ton,  aggregating  $162  in  value. 

THE  ROCK  CHEEK  COUNTRY. 

Just  over  the  greit  divide  separating  the  waters  of  the  Gunnison  from  those 
of  the  Roaring  Fork  of  Grand  River,  and  eight  miles  northwest  of  Gothic,  is  the 
Rock  Creek  District,  in  which  the  quartz  discoveries  that  led  to  the  opening  up 
•of  the  Gunnison  country  were  made  in  1872.  The  famous  Whopper  Mine  is 
located  near  Scofleld,  in  the  heart  of  this  district.  It  will  be  remembered  by 
those  who  have  read  my  brief  history  of  the  Elk  Mountain  country  in  THE 
WORLD  that  the  Waite  Brothers  have  been  tunneling  into  Whopper  Mountain 
for  some  eight  years,  generally  alone,  in  the  heart  of  this  perfect  wilderness, 
and  it  is  largely  due  to  their  unconquerable  pluck  and  tenacity  that  the  world 
is  beginning  even  this  soon  to  learn  something  of  the  wonderful  wealth  of  Gun- 
nison. Galena,  Crystal,  Treasure  and  Whopper  mountains  in  the  Rock  Creek  dis- 
trict are  seamed  with  large  veins  of  comparatively  low-grade  but  easily  smelted 
galena  ore.  Mill  runs  on  the  High  Tide,  Whopper  and  Homestake  and  other 
mines  whose  ore-bodies  are  from  8  to  25  feet  wide  average  50  to  67  ounces  sil- 
ver per  ton,  and  assays  of  assorted  ore  frequently  show  a  valuation  of  300  to 
600  ounces.  The  district  really  merges  into  the  Gothic  belt  and  covers  75 
«quare  miles  of  country  which  presents  as  bright  an  outlook  to  the  pros- 
pector as  any  region  I  know  of .  In  fact,  this  whole  country,  and  from  Ruby 
•Camp  north  to  the  Roaring  Fork  of  Grand  River,  a  distance  of  nearly  a  hun- 
dred miles,  abounds  in  entire  mountain  ranges  upon  which  it  is  doubtful  whether 
the  feet  of  white  men  have  ever  trod.  Only  the  roughest  pioneering  has  been 
done. 

RICH  DISCOVERIES  WILL  BE  MADE  FOR  TEARS  TO  COME 

by  miner  and  novice  alike.  lam  informed  that  the  Waite  Brothers  received 
their  reward  last  March,  when  they  sold  the  Whopper  to  Philadelphia  parties  for 
$140,000.  The  Terror,  near  by,  has  sold  for  $42,000,  and  the  Belle  of  Titusville 
for  $80,000.  The  Ltah,  Silver  Reef,  Scofleld  and  Crystal,  and  other  properties 
are  entitled  to  that  notice  which  capitalists  are  pleased  to  give  mines  with  lib- 
eral dump  piles  of  easily  reduced  fair  grade  ores.  A  forty-ton  smelter  erected 
by  Quincy  capitalists,  is  to  start  up  at  Scofleld  this  month,  when  hundreds  of 
mere  "  prospects"  will  be  given  a  chance  to  show  what  they  contain.  Rock 
Creek  also  boasts  some  good  copper  ores  carrying  silver.  Hitherto  there  has 
been  no  market  for  ores,  except  of  course  for  the  small  proportion  of  very  high 
.grade  mineral  which  would  bear  transportation  100  miles  to  the  railroad.  Two 


26  GUNNISON    AND    SAN    JUAN. 

months  ago  there  was  only  one  cabin  at  Scofield.  The  boom  came,  and  with 
it  L.  Buddee,  a  shrewd  business  man  of  Quincy,  111.,  who  has  sold  $50,000 
worth  of  goods  in  the  last  six  weeks  to  the  hundreds  of  miners  and  others  who 
have  so  suddenly  occupied  the  land. 

NEW  CARBONATE  FIELDS. 

Just  now  there  is  a  genuine  stampede  from  Kuby,  Gothic  and  other  camps 
to  the  so-called  Spring  Creek  carbonate  fields.  These  are  located  near  the  head- 
waters of  Spring  Creek,  a  tributary  of  Gunnison  River,  about  twentv  miles 
southeast  of  Gothic.  The  American  Smelting  Company,  of  Leadville,  have 
been  quietly  working  some  fifteen  men  there  for  several  weeks,  and  a  returned 
Ruby  Camp  miner  (whose  loyalty  to  Ruby  would  hardly  justify  a  fair  statement) 
says  they  are  finding  sand  carbonates  wort1!  about  $30  per  ton  at  a  depth  of 
twenly-eight  feet.  The  bed  uncovered  in  the  Doctor  and  Cora  Estelle  mines  is 
said  to  be  two  feet  thick  and  lies  between  oxide  of  iron  and  limestone.  Others 
who  are  coming  in  for  supplies  say  the  prospects  are  very  flattering;  that  hun- 
dreds of  claims  have  been  staked  out  in  the  last  few  days,  a  town  company  or- 
ganized and  two  or  three  hundred  men  arriving  daily  in  the  hope  of  participat- 
ing in  the  creation  of  a  second  Leadville.  The  camp  is  thirty -three  miles  north- 
east of  Gunnison  City,  and  is  easily  reached  from  either  that  point,  Ruby  or 
Gothic.  Seven  miles  this  side  of  Spring  Creek  is  Cement  Creek  district,  in 
which  that  most  noted  of  all  Rocky  Mountain  prospectors,  Dick  Irwin,  declares 
he  has  uncovered  exactly  the  formation  that  belongs  peculiarly  to  the  great  car- 
bonate camp.  The  carbonates  of  lime,  ochre  and  porphyry  are  all  there  and 
pretty  well  adjusted.  But  the  air  is  full  of  rumors  of  strikes ;  men  are  leaving 
stealthily  under  cover  of  night,  and  boastingly,  from  daylight  till  dark,  horse- 
back and  on  foot,  with  the  inevitable  pick  and  shovel,  many  leaving  better 
mines  behind  than  they  will  ever  find,  and  the  country  is  so  new  that  we  may 
look  for  this  state  of  things  for  years. 

SOMETHING  MORE  ABOUT  GOTHIC. 

Gothic  is  beautifully  located  8,500  feet  above  the  sea  at  the  east  base  of  Gothic 
Mountain,  where  Copper  Creek  joins  East  River,  and  has  its  business  eye  out  for 
the  trade  of  all  the  northwestern  portion  of  the  Gunnison  country.  It  contains 
some  1,200  inhabitants,  a  newspaper,  twelve-ton  smelter  and  bank,  and  a  Chi- 
cago company  is  now  preparing  to  erect  works  for  the  reduction  of  ores  by 
chloridizing— a  process  that  is  now  in  operation  in  Chicago  and  does  such  re- 
markable things  as  saving  from  90  to  98  per  cent  of  the  assay  value  of  ores. 
Copper  Creek  affords  .splendid  power  for  such  works,  falling  as  it  does  in  large 
volume  300  feet  in  less  than  half  a  mile  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  town. 
One  perpendicular  descent  of  50*  feet,  amid  massive  and  quaintly  carved  ver- 
tical buttresses  of  granite,  is  a  scene  of  rare  beauty.  The  lower  mountains  sur- 
rounding Gothic  are  covered  with  a  thick  carpet  of  bunch  grass,  insuring  at 
least  good  summer  feed  for  thousands  of  cattle  and  sheep,  and  the  higher 
ranges  are  clothed  with  a  heavy  growth  of  pine.  Game  and  fish  abound,  as  in 
all  portions  of  the  Gunnison  country. 


(.1    NM-»N      AND 


ROCKY    MOUNTAIN    SURPRISES. 


FIFTH     LETTER-CAMP     WILLARD     ON    THE     COCIIETOPA— PITKIN 

AM)    ASPEN. 

PITKIN,  COLORADO,  Sept.  12th,  1880. 

Perhaps  no  region  on  earth  presents  so  many  singular  anomalies  as  the 
Rocky  Mountains.  Our  flowers  and  snow-banks  side  by  side,  our  bottomless 
swamps  on  mountain-tops  and  parched  deserts  below  sea-level,,  pur  winters  in 
midsummer  and  summers  in  midwinter,  and  our  striking  ups  and  downs  finan- 
cially and  physically,  are  features  of  which  the  world  has  at  least  a  faint  idea. 
But,  after  ten  years  of  constant  observation  in  this  country,  [  am  attracted  less 
by  these  things  than  by  the  instantaneous  every-day  creation  of  vast.values  and 
superior  civilization  in  these  districts  furthest  distant  from  centers  of  com- 
merce and  population,  by  marvellous  progress  in  corners  obscure  and  almost 
inaccessible,  and  by  wealth  sent  the  world  from  rugged,  sterile  heights  among 
eternal  snows,  where  geologists  have  told  us  such  wealth  could  not  be.  It  has 
only  been  a  fortnight  since  I  commenced  my  Gunnison  letters,  and  half  a  dozen 
seemingly  important  strikes  have  occurred  in  the  interval  in  the  district  cov- 
ered. Fair  carbonate  ores  on  Spring  Creek,  fifty  miles  north  of  Gunnison; 
gold  quartz  over  in  Washington  Gulch,  rich  silver-bearing  galena  in  sight  of 
Gunnison  City,  and  now  a  tremendous  sensation^in  gold  on  Cochetopa  Creek, 
are  some  of  these  developments  which  really  promise  well.  Pitkin  is  twenty- 
six  miles  northeast  of  Guimison  City.  The  route  is  first  eastward  up  Tomichi 
Valley,  a  dozen  miles,  to  Parlin's  ranch,  and  thence  northward  fourteen  miles 
along  Quartz  Creek.  Between  Gunnison  and  Parlin's  Cochetopa  Creek  empties 
into  Tomichi  River,  and  although  this  letter  was  intended  as  a  resume  of  all 
the  northwestern  portion  of  the  Gunnison  country,  with  Pitkin  as  the  common 
center,  I  will  branch  off  a  few  minutes  on  the  Cochetopa  "  find"  as  a  wayside 
circumstance  and  one  of  the  "  anomalies." 

CAMP  WILLARD—A  GENUINE  STAMPEDE. 

Camp  Willard  is  the  name  given  the  Cochetopa  diggings.  It  is  fifteen  miles 
southeast  of  Gunnison,  in  some  low  timberless  mountain  ranges,  and  not  more 
than  8,500  feet  above  the  sea.  There  is  nothing  in  the  appearance  of  the  sur- 
roundings to  "warrant  results  now  shown;  in  fact,  no  less  an  experienced  per- 
sonage than  Jack  Haverly's  principal  prospector,  who  has  been  in  about  all 
the  camps  of  the  Rockies  for  the  past  twenty  years,  says:  "  If  I  had  caught  a 
man  of  mine  hunting  among  those  Cochetopa  hills  for  gold,  I  would  have  helped 
drum  him  out  of  camp."  However,  a  few  days  ago,  a  miner  came  into  Gunni- 
son with  a  piece  of  white,  flinty  quartz,  sparkling  with  its  wealth  of  native 
gold,  and  said  it  was  from  Cochetopa.  An  assay  gave  $2,108.34  per  ton.  The 
news  spread  like  wildfire,  aed  soon  the  old  stories,  handed  down  from  the 
earliest  days  of  Colorado  history,  of  "pound  diggings  on  the  Cochetopa," 
flashed  through  a  dozen  Gunnison  camps.  In  two  days  some  4,000  people  had 
stampeded  to  the  "  find,"  and  at  this  writing  a  tewn  is  being  built,  a  railroad 
survey  up  Cochetopa  Creek  has  been  made,  claims  are  recorded  by  the  hundred 


28  GUNNISON    AND    SAN    JUAN. 

•daily,  and  about  every  branch  of  business  is  represented.  The  Lubricator, 
Maple  Leaf,  and  other  claims,  have  every  appearance  of  true  fissure  veins,  and 
are  traceable  by  large  croppiugs  for  hundreds  of  feet  at  a  stretch.  These  crop- 
pings  generally  consist  of  an  almost  pure  white  flinty  quartz  showing  a  great 
deal  of  gold  and  some  copper,  but  several  claims  in  which  silver  predominates 
have  also  been  recorded.  I  am  reliably  informed  that  of  the  hundreds  of  assays 
of  gold  quartz  already  made,  none  have  shown  less  than  $100  per  ton.  The 
silver  ore,  all  croppings,  yields  from  twenty  to  fifty  ounces  silver  per  ton.  Re- 
spectable quantities  of  Lubricator  quartz  are  now  being  sacked  for  shipment 
from  an  open  cut  only  six  feet  deep.  Assays  of  this  quartz  show  such  fabulous 
yields  as  $15,000  and  $20,000  per  ton.  The  Cochetopa  mineral  belt,  so  far  as  its 
boundaries  can  now  be  determined,  is  about  ten  miles  long  by  five  wide,  and 
this  area  is  fairly  alive  with  prospectors.  Fair  prospects  of  gold  in  the  sands 
of  the  creek  have  led  to  extensive  preparations  for  working  a  number  of  placer 

claims. 

PITKIN  AND  VICINITY. 

Passing  qn  to  Pitkin,  we  find  it  located  in  a  beautiful  park  at  the  head  of 
Quartz  Creek,  twenty-six  miles  northeast  of  Gunnison,  and  about  fifteen  miles 
west  of  Hancock,  on  the  Denver,  South  Park  &  Pacific  Railroad.  Its  altitude 
is  9,100  feet  above  the  sea.  On  three  sides  high  mountains  oppose  their  densely 
timbered  fronts,  which  are  here  and  there  cleft  by  gulches  leading  to  the  exten- 
sive mining  fields  at  higher  altitudes.  Pitkin  is  a  year  old,  and  is  entitled  to 
reverence  in  a  region  as  new  as  Gunnison.  It  is,  of  course,  better  built  than  its 
younger  neighbors  of  which  I  have  been  writing,  and  contains  quite  substantial 
and  roomy  hotels,  stores,  banks,  etc.,  and  about  1,500  residents.  With  the  rail- 
road only  some  thirty  miles  away,  it  has,  nevertheless,  suffered  more  through 
isolation  than  almost  any  other  mining  camp  in  the  Gunnison  country.  One  of 
the  most  rugged  sections  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  range  lies  between  it  and  the 
railroad,  and  it  has  required  seventy  miles  of  rough  staging  to  reach  it  by  the 
roundabout  Marshall  Pass  route.  But  a  stage  road  has  now  been  completed 
over  Alpine  Pass,  and  the  distance  shortened  more  than  half,  and  the  Denver, 
South  Park  &  Pacific  Company  is  piercing  Alpine  Mountain,  ten  miles  away, 
with  a  2,000-foot  tunnel  to  get  its  cars  into  Pitkin  early  next  season.  Capital 
•can  therefore  consider  that  Pitkin  is  to  be  the  first  railroad  town  in  all  this 
region,  and  that  its  interests  will  bask  in  the  attending  boom. 

A  FIELD  FOE  THE  INEXPERIENCED. 

At  least  a  dozen  of  the  large  number  of  mining  locations  I  have  examined 
around  Pitkin  are  veins  of  great  strength  and  richness.  Nearly  all  are  differ- 
ent, however,  in  one  important  respect,  from  those  in  most  other  Gunnison 
camps.  The  veins  rarely  show  themselves  plainly  above  the  surface,  being  gen- 
erally covered  with  from  one  to  ten  feet  of  "slide"  or  wash  gravel.  The 
"float"  which  guides  the  experienced  prospector  to  the  vicinity  of  a  vein  is 
plentiful  enough,  but  the  absence  of  well-defined  croppings  must  have  this  re- 
sult: Mines  will  be  found  for  years  all  through  the  surrounding  mountains  by 
the  novice  and  expert  alike,  merely  by  stripping  surface  matter  blindly  in  inviting 
localities  and  sinking  to  a  solid  formation.  So  it  cannot  be  said  here,  as  of 
some  districts,  that  there  is  no  room  for  prospectors.  At  whatever  depth  it  has 
been  found  thus  far,  the  Pitkin  ore  in  all  the  mines  I  have  seen  has  been  from 
fair  to  very  high  grade.  It  is  no  uncommon  thing  to  find  fifteen  and  twentj 
foot  prospect  holes  showing  veins  three  to  ten  feet  wide  of  free  milling  ores  that 


(il'NNISON  AND    SAN    JUAN. 

will  yield  from  $100  to  $500  to  the  ton.  Scores  of  these  have  from  two  to  ten 
tons  of  mineral  each  ready  for  shipment.  Nearly  all  the  mines  thus  far  produce 
free  milling  ores,  the  product  often  being  gold  and  silver  in  about  equal  propor- 
tions. Probably  no  region  outside  of  the  Deadwood  belt  in  the  Black  Hills  is 
more  i>u//.ling  to  the  old  miner  or  exasperating  to  the  "expert"  than  this,  for 
they  find  both  gold  and  silver  in  almost  anything,  from  a  sandstone  boulder  to 
a  mass  of  petrifaction.  In  the  Little  Per  Cent  and  Silver  Islet,  particularly,  I 
am  free  to  say,  geologists  will  once  more  find  formations  whose  like  were  never 
before  seen,  enormously  rich  in  gold  and  silver. 

The  first  mine  to  attract  attention  in  the  vicinity  of  Pitkin  was  discovered  a 
year  ago  and  called  the  Fair-view.  It  made  such  a  flue  showing  within  twenty 
feet  of  the  surface  that  it  sold  within  a  few  months  to  Nathaniel  Slaght,  a  Mich- 
igan lumberman,  for  $50,000.  It  is  now  80  feet  deep,  and  a  drift  at  the  bottom 
of  the  shaft  discloses  a  vein  6^3  feet  wide.  The  entire  product  of  this  vein 
averages  150  ounces  of  silver  per  ton,  and  a  third  of  the  ore,  called  first  grade, 
yields  from  800  to  1,500  ounces  per  ton.  Near  the  Fairview,  on  Fairview  Moun- 
tain, are  the  Western  Hemisphere,  Granite  State,  Seventy- eight,  and  others 
almost  as  well  developed  as  the  Fairview,  and  yielding  just  as  rich  ore.  These 
all  carry  chlorides  and  sulphurets  of  silver  and  carbonates  of  lead,  and  are  in  a 
porphyry  formation.  The  Silver  Age  and  Silver  Islet  are  neighboring  locations 
on  the  same  vein.  The  former  was  also  purchased  last  fall  by  Slaght  for  $40,- 
000.  Experts  pronounce  this 

ONE  OF  THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  VEINS  IN  THE  EOCKIES. 
The  Silver  Age  shaft  is  down  37  feet,  and  the  Islet  60  feet.  Both  show  the  vein 
of  rich  milling  ore  to  be  from  14  to  16  feet  wide.  There  is  so  little  barren 
material  that  the  entire  product  from  this  enormous  crevice  will 
be  milled  without  assorting.  About  400  tons  of  ore,  worth  some  $30,000, 
are  now  on  the  Silver  Islet  dump.  Dr.  Tony,  of  New  York  city,  made 
careful  assays  of  ore  from  all  parts  of  this  vein  at  a  depth  of  25  feet,  and  found 
the  average  value  65>2  ounces  silver  per  ton,  with  a  small  yield  in  gold,  and  at 
60  feet  the  average  is  91  ounces  silver.  At  28  feet  the  average  value  of  all  vein 
matter  in  the  Silver  Age,  according  to  assays  by  Professor  Chisolm,  is  184 
ounces  silver  and  2)£  ounces  gold  per  ton,  and  at  37  feet  two  assays  just  made 
show  599  and  688  ounces  silver.  The  ore  is  easily  broken  in  these  claims,  and 
considering  their  great  breadth  it  would  seem  that  production  could  be  made 
to  run  up  into  the  hundreds  of  tons  daily  with  proper  development.  The 
Dodson,  five  miles  northwest  of  Pitkin,  is  a  four-foot  fissure  vein,  carrying 
free  milling  ore  rich  in  gold  and  silver.  The  main  shaft  is  75  feet  deep,  and  at 
its  mouth  lies  300  tons  of  ore  (mainly  the  result  of  sinking  this  one  hole)  that 
will  average  $100  per  ton.  The  Dodson  has  produced  considerable  $500  ore. 
It  was  sold  when  only  25  feet  deep  to  ex-Governor  Marshall  and  Auditor  Whit- 
combe,  of  Minnesota,  and  others  for  $25,000.  The  Gold  Leaf,  near  by,  is  one 
of  the  few  Pitkin  mines  which  shows  above  the  surface.  It  has  been  traced 
400  feet  by  unbroken  croppings  four  feet  wide.  The  pay  vein  is  three  feet 
wide,  and  the  average  of  ten  assays  made  from  different  parts  of  it  shows  gold 
and  silver  to  the  value  of  $219  per  ton.  The  Gold  Leaf  is  on  Gold  Hill,  a  land- 
mark that  is  literally  seamed  from  base  to  summit  with  similar  "  prospects," 
chief  among  which  are  the  Last  Chance,  Bertha,  Golden  Link,  Chieftain  and 
Golden  Curry.  The  Golden  Link  is  owned  by  a  Chicago  gentleman,  who  pur- 
chased  it  a  few  mouths  ago  for  $15,000,  and,  Chicago  fashion,  has  already 
stocked  it  at  $1,000,100. 


30  GUNNISON    AND    SAN    JUAN. 

Near  the  head  of  Armstrong  Gulch,  two  miles  away,  is  the  Terrible,  whose 
pay  vein  of  six  inches  at  the  surface  has  steadily  increased  to  twenty  inches  at 
the  bottom  of  a  35-foot  incline.  Surface  openings  along  the  vein  for  750  feet 
demonstrate  that  this  is  one  of  the  "big  things"  of  the  camp.  Ore  is  now 
being  shipped  that  yields  from  $100  to  $2,000  gold  and  silver  to  the  ton.  The 
Chloride  King,  probably  an  extension  of  the  Terrible,  shows  a  two-foot  pay 
vein,  very  rich  in  chlorides,  brittle  silver  and  native  gold.  A  shipment  of 
about  two  tons,  the  returns  of  which  have  not  been  received,  will,  it  is  believed 
by  those  who  have  handled  the  ore,  yield  at  least  $600  to  the  ton.  The 
Chloride  King  has  been  bonded  to  Chicago  parties  for  $50,000.  Almost  every 
chunk  of  a  lot  of  five  tons  of  ore  at  the  Terrible  at  the  time  of  my  visit  glit- 
.tered  with  grains  of  gold.  Three  miles  down  Quartz  Creek  from  Pitkin  is  the 
somewhat  noted  Little  Per  Cent  gold  claim  which  created  such  a  sensation  a 
week  or  two  ago  through  its  $65,COO  per  ton  assay.  It  has  less  developments 
than  any  of  the  claims  I  have  mentioned,  but  has  this  much  of  a  record :  One 
ton  of  ore  taken  as  an  average  from  across  a  three-foot  vein  yielded  $53. 

I  will  add  that  any  of  the  mines  mentioned  in  this  letter  can  show  assays  up 
to  almost  any  figure,  because  all  of  them  have  streaks  of  wonderfully  rich  ore, 
but  I  have  been  content  to  take  average  yields  as  a  rule  to  give  the  intelligent 
.reader  a  true  idea  of  the  value  of  Pitkin  ores.  A  score  or  more  of  such  claims 
as  those  named  should  make  good  shipments  of  ore  within  the  next  sixty  days, 
as  the  excuse,of  inaccessibility  and  high  freights  can  no  longer  be  offered.  I 
believe  the  Pitkin  miners  come  nearer  having  a  true  appreciation  of  the  value 
of  mere  prospects  than  those  of  any  district  I  have  been  in,  and  the  reason  no 
doubt  is  simply  that  Pitkin  has  had  no  boom,  and  capitalists  have  not  stam- 
peded the  prospectors  themselves  by  rushing  in  and  purchasing  all  eorts  of 
holes  at  fictitious  prices.  However,  parties  are  arranging  to  build  a  smelter, 
and  others  a  $100,000  stamp  mill,  thus  insuring  at  least  a  small  home  market 
for  ores,  and  transportation  facilities  are  rapidly  improving,  so  that  possibly 
the  Pitkin  prospector  will  soon  have  reason  to  act  more  like  his  extravagant 
friends  over  at  Ruby  Camp,  Gothic  and  other  lively  camps.  But  at  present 
this  is  as  good  as  any  I  know  of  in  Colorado  for  legitimate  investment  in 
mines. 

A  GOOD  SHOW  FOE  CARBONATES. 

This  region  is  probably  on  the  verge  of  another  carbonate  sensation. 
Chicago  Park,  two  and  a  half  miles  south  of  Pitkin,  promises  strongly  to  be 
the  scene.  A  Chicago  gentleman  has  gained  a  depth  there  of  about  fifty 
feet  on  each  of  six  shafts,  and  will  continue  on  the  same  line  all  winter, 
on  the  strength  of  indications  identical  almost  with  those  at  Leadville.  The 
lime,  iron  and  porphyry  are  all  there  in  proper  position,  and  he  has  struck 
a  large  body  of  decomposed  iron,  consisting  of  10  to  30  ounces  silver  to  the 
ton.  Half  a  dozen  other  parties  are  sinking  on  claims  in  Chicago  Park,  and  all 
are  about  as  jubilant  as  if  they  were  penetrating  the  crust  of  Fryer  Hill.  The 
Park  is  only  some  700  feet  higher  than  Pitkin,  is  in  the  midst  of  heavy  timber, 
and  has  other  good  natural  facilities  for  economical  working  of  mines. 

Among  the  important  districts  in  this  portion  of  the  Gunnison  country  is 
Tomitchi,  near  the  head  of  Tomitchi  Elver,  some  15  miles  southeast  of  Pitkin. 
The  camp  numbers  over  500  men,  and  they  have  uncovered  some  four  or  five 
good  lodes,  to  say  nothing  of  the  hundreds  of  claims  which  may  develop  into 
paying  properties  when  a  reasonable  amount  of  work  has  been  put  upon  them. 
The  belt  is  from  six  to  eight  miles  long  and  about  four  wide.  The  ore  carries 


« .  i  :  J  l 

iron  pyrites  ami  sihrr  in  the  form  of  glance,  native  and  brittle  silver.  The 
Little  Carry  :uul  iJrittlc  Silver  locations,  both  on  the  same  vein,  are  among  the 
largo  t  rv.T  ili.M-.>\  ,-red  in  Colorado.  The  crevice  is  40  feet  wide,  and  th- 
a  pay  streak  of  from  five  to  ten  feet.  From  the  ban  Juan  there  have  been  mill- 
runs  of  (.M)  ounces  silver  and  from  the  Fort  Scott  of  100  ounces  silver  per  ton. 
Senator  Hill's  smelting  works  have  recently  made  a  run  on  ore  from  the  Lewis- 
ton,  with  the  following  result:  First  class,  $607.02  per  ton;  second  class, 
84LM  .13  per  ton;  third  class,  $112.32  per  ton.  The  Lewiston  has  a  foot  of  ore 
that  will  average  $300  per  ton,  and  the  Fort  Scott  two  feet  of  $150  ore.  .This 
is  one  of  the  very  few  camps  that  has  commenced  shipping  ore  within  a  few 
months  after  its  discovery,  and  as  it  will  obtain  a  good  start  this  fall,  and  the 
mines  can  be  operated  all  winter,  important  developments  can  be  looked  for 
by  the  time  the  railroads  enter  next  spring. 

UILLEETON  MINES  AND  SMELTEES. 

Fifteen  miles  north  of  Pitkin,  on  a  spur  of  the  main  range  known  as  Fossil 
Ridge,  is  the  famous  Gold  Cup  group  of  mines,  the  Gold,  Silver,  Iron  and  Tin 
Cup  and  Anna  Dietrick  being  the  five  principal  claims.  The  Gold  Cup  and  Anna 
Dietrick  are  in  shape  to  produce  25  tons  of  high-grade  mineral  each  daily,  and 
the  others  can  do  almost  as  well.  The  mines  carry  both  geld  and  silver,  running 
in  value  from  $200  to  $500  per  ton.  The  best  smelting  works  in  the  Gunnison 
country  are  in  successful  operation  on  these  ores  at  Hillerton,  two  or  three 
miles  away.  The  works  were  completed  only  a  few  weeks  ago,  by  C.  F.  Abbey, 
of  New  York,  at  a  cost  of  $20,000,  and  are  turning  out  about  $1,000  worth  of 
bullion  daily. 

L  OARING  FORK  AND  ASPEN. 

Thirty-five  miles  northwest  of  Pitkin  is  the  Roaring  Fork  district,  with  Aspen 
as  the  central  camp.  The  Smuggler  and  Monarch  lead  a  long  list  of  mines, 
running  high  in  silver  and  lead.  The  mineral  of  the  Monarch  protrudes  30  feet 
from  the  mountain  side,  and  the  vein  is  over  100  feet  wide.  Immense  boulders 
of  solid  galena  ore,  rich  in  silver,  and  weighing  hundreds  of  tons,  have  become 
detached  from  the  main  body,  and  lie  strewn  all  over  the  mountain  side  below. 
The  Smuggler,  however,  is  considered  the  great  mine  of  the  district.  Its 
width  is  from  75  to  100  feet,  and  at  the  depth  of  ten  feet  the  ore  assays  100 
ounces  silver  and  56  per  cent  lead.  The  Spar  vein  has  been  traced  by  its  im- 
mense croppings,  and  located  for  over  two  miles.  It  carries  copper,  stained 
spar,  galena,  and  sulphurets,  assays  all  the  way  from  $75  to  $1,000  having  been 
obtained.  Messrs.  Breed  &  Gillespie,  o'f  New  York,  who  own  several  claims  on 
the  Spar,  are  preparing  to  erect  a  100-ton  smelter  at  Aspen. 

Recent  rich  strikes  in  the  Silver  Bell,  Spar  and  Pioneer  demonstrate  that 
Aspen  Mountain  is  a  vast  storehouse  of  mineral.  More  than  50  mines  are 
being  rapidly  developed,  and  at  least  20  show  extensive  bodies  of  mineral  that 
have  obtained  mill  runs  of  $100  per  ton  or  more.  The  contact  veins  on  which  so 
many  rich  strikes  have  recently  been  made  are  very  remarkable  for  their  length, 
one  being  located  for  four  miles  and  two  others  for  about  two  miles  each.  The 
width  of  the  veins  varies  from  5  to  50  feet.  The  ore  contains  no  refractory 
substances,  and  can  easily  be  reduced  at  the  lowest  possible  expense  when 
smelters  are  built  at  Aspen.  The  owners  of  the  Spar  and  Smuggler  mines,  as 
well  as  Messrs.  Maxwell  &  Slater,  will  each  erect  smelters  early  next  spring. 
The  Spar  and  Chloride  mines  produce  ores  so  rich  that  they  are  shipping  to 
Leadville  per  pack-jacks  at  a  cost  of  $80  per  ton.  The  Spar  ore  returns  as  high 
as  $1,000  per  ton,  and  the  Chloride  from  $500  to  $2,000.  The  intrinsic  value 


32  GUNNISON  AND    SAN    JUAN. 

of  the  croppings  of  the  Silver  Bell  are  stated  to  be  not  less  than  $50,000. 
These  croppings  yield  on  an  average  $150  in  silver  to  the  ton.  The  Swedish 
Boy  mine,  located  on  the  same  vein  as  the  Silver  Bell,  but  two  miles  south,  is 
producing  some  wonderfully  rich  chloride  ore  that  assays  over  $5,COO.  The- 
Mother  Shifton  and  Grand  Duchess  mines,  located  by  two  successful  English 
miners  and  experts,  are  among  the  most  valuable  in  the  camp.  The  Mother 
Shifton  shows  an  immense  vein,  the  croppings  of  heavy  spar  and  mineral  being 
in  places  60  feet  wide.  It  is  at  present  opened  by  a  30-foot  tunnel,  showing 
lime^  spar  and  galena  in  the  whole  breast.  The  Grand  Duchess  has  two  shafts,. 
No.  1  having  five  feet  of  mineral,  a  fine  galena  and  gray  copper,  with  good 
hanging  wall — the  foot  wall  not  yet  cut.  No.  2  shaft  shows  six  feet  of  mineral  -r 
this  No.  2  shaft  is  75  feet  west  of  No.  1,  and  is  a  distinct  vein,  thus  showing 
two  distinct  veins  running  through  these  claims  and  parallel  with  each  other. 
Assays  show  1,500  and  2,400  ounces  silver  per  ton.  There  were  but  500  men 
in  this  section  this  season  to  prospect  a  mineral  belt  20  miles  long,  and  a  very 
small  fraction  of  a  very  rich  district  has  been  looked  over. 

ANOTHER  SUPERB  FIELD  FOR  SILVER-SEEKERS. 
At  the  head  of  Castle  Creek,  13  miles  from  Aspen,  is  the  Ashcraft  district,, 
which,  if  anything,  presents  evei|  better  opportunities  to  the  prospector. 
Many  rich  strikes  have  been  going  on  of  late,  but  the  first  snow-storm  of  the 
season  has  put  an  end  to  prospecting.  But  sufficient  development  has  been 
made  to  demonstrate  the  fact  that  this  is  the  richest  and  most  extensive 
mineral  belt  yet  found,  with  every  indication  of  large  veins  of  free  smelting 
ore,  showing  ruby  and  brittle  silver,  black  sulphurets  and  galena,  specimens  of 
which  assay  into  the  thousands.  Nature  has  done  as  much  for  this  country  as 
for  any  in  Colorado.  Prospectors  will  find  large  mineral  outcroppings  and 
mountains  covered  with  float  that  will  enable  even  the  tenderfoot  of  limited 
mining  knowledge  to  find  the  vein  without  much  difficulty.  A  great  rush  is 
expected  to  this  section  early  in  the  spring.  Ashcraft  is  60  miles  from  Lead- 
ville,  and  the  same  distance  from  Buena  Vista,  and  can  be  reached  by  wagon- 
road  from  Buena  Vista,  which  passes  directly  through  the  town,  or  from  Lead- 
ville,  by  way  of  Twin  Lakes  and  Red  Mountain  pass. 


TO  PROSPECTOR  AND  CAPITALIST. 

SIXTH    LETTER— VAST    WEALTH    AWAITING    APPROPRIATION— CLI- 
MATE, AGRICULTURE,  ROUTES,  RATES,   WAGES,  ETC. 

GUNNISON,  COL.,  September  28,  1880. 

In  closing  this  series  of  letters  on  the  Gunnison  country,  it  affords  me 
pleasure  to  note  that  reports  now  coming  in  from  the  various  camps  at  least 
insure  a  realization  of  such  hopes  as  I  have  from  time  to  time  indulged.  The 
Forest  Queen  mine,  at  Ruby  Camp,  has  increased  its  ore  shipments  to  twenty 
tons  daily,  worth  from  $250  to  $1,000  per  ton.  At  65  feet  in  its  main  shaft  its 
pay  vein  is  larger  and  fully  as  rich  as  at  the  sixty-foot  point,  which  I  noted  in 
my  description  of  the  mine  as  being  an  almost  unprecedentedly  large  ore  body, 
considering  its  fabulous  grade.  The  Bullion  King,  also  in  Ruby  Camp,  has,. 


GUNN1SON   AND    SAN  33 

since  my  notes  on  it  were  published,  developed  a4-foot  vein  of  on-  whiHi,  I  ara  re- 
li;il)ly  informed,  will  average  $850  ounces  silver  per  ton.  The  Chloride,  at  Aspen, 
|MM  recently  sboWn  a  small  yeln,  having gOOd  indication*  of  permanency,  that 
yields  oiv  containing  5,000  to  6,000  silver  per  ton.  New  smelters  have  been 
contracted  for  in  the  last  two  weeks  at  Irwm,  Aspen  and  (Jothic,  and  one  noted 
In  a  previous  letter  at  Hillerton,  has  been  finished  and  Is  turning  out  $2,000 
worth  of  bullion  daily.  Since  making  a  thorough  Inspection  of  the  various 
camps  I  am  satisfied  my  first  estimate  of  the  population  of  the  Gunnison  coun- 
try was  much  too  low.  It  is  easily  18,000  instead  of  12,000,  as  originally  noted. 

SIX  MONTHS1  DEVELOPMENT. 

The  summer  has  practically  been  devoted  to  prospecting.  The  fall  and 
winter  months  will  show  good  s  "id  development  and  a  respectable  yield  of 
bullion,  and,  judging  from  the  present  yield,  the  large  number  of  mines  being 
placed  in  condition  to  produce  and  the  numerous  mills  and  smelters  completed 
or  in  progress,  it  is  pretty  safe  to  place  Gunnison  in  1881  and  thenceforth  among 
those  Colorado  counties  which  regularly  turn  out  from  $1,500,000  to  $2,000,000 
worth  of  the  precious  metals  per  annum.  This  is  the  most  conservative  view, 
and  is  far  beneath  that  which  1  am  willing  to  admit  is  among  the  possibilities. 
For  instance,  the  Forest  Queen  can  alone  produce  that  amount  next  year,  if  put 
to  its  trumps,  and  the  Ruby  King,  at  Irwin;  Sylvanite,  at  Gothic;  the  Silver  Age 
and  Islet,  at  Pitkin,  and  several  others  I  could  mention,  can  each  do  half  as 
well,  if  present  appearances  go  for  anything.  Or,  to  outline  the  possibilities, 
It  should  be  noted  that  a  section  of  country,  some  3,000  square  miles  in  extent, 
from  Pitkin  on  the  east  to  Silver  Basin  on  the  west,  and  from  Aspen  at  the  north 
to  Camp  Willard  at  the  south,  is  filled  with  mountain  ranges  on  most  of  which 
discoveries  of  gold  or  silver-bearing  quartz  have  been  made  by  hundreds,  and 
as  a  rule  the  mineral  is  found  in  true  fissure  veins  of  greater  extent  and  rich- 
ness on  the  surface  than  any  in  Colorado,  or  elsewhere  that  I  know  of.  A  draw- 
back in  several  camps  is  the  refractory  nature  of  the  richest  ores,  but  the  adven., 
of  two  railways  next  year  will  make  the  transportation  of  these  to  the  best 
smelters  of  the  country  a  matter  of  ease  and  economy. 

A  SPLENDID  FIELD  FOE  SHELTERS. 

This  suggests  a  few  words  on  the  reduction  of  Gunnison  ores  at  home.  A 
successful  smelting  centre  must  have  in  its  vicinity,  or  easily  accessible,  not 
only  numerous  kinds  of  gold  and  silver  ore,  but  iron,  lead,  lime  and  fuel  in 
abundance.  Smelting  or  reduction  works  at  Denver  are  eager  searchers  after 
the  heavy  galena  ores  in  one  district  to  use  as  a  flux  with  richer  gold  or  silver 
quartz  that  has  been  obtained  a  thousand,  miles  in  an  opposite  direction,  and 
the  generally  despised  low  grade  iron  ore,  or  the  otherwise  barely-sought  lime- 
stone must  be  had  to  bring  about  the  proper  condition  of  the  mass  for  success- 
ful separation  of  the  precious  from  the  base  metals,  while  fuel  for  generating 
the  necessary  heat  is  the  most  important  factor  of  all.  Thus  it  happens  that 
some  of  our  most  successful  smelting  and  refining  works  are  furthest  from  the 
precious  metal  supply.  Gunnison,  for  these  and  other  reasons,  should  be  the 
smelter's  Mecca.  In  the  immediate  vicinity  of  Crested  Butte,  especially,  are 
inexhaustible  supplies  of  iron  ore  of  different  grades  and  natures,  from  the 
second-rate  "bog"  to  the  richest  hematite  and  magnetic;  vast  beds  of  anthracite 
and  coking  coal,  the  former  equally  as  good,  and  the  latter  little,  if  any,  inferior 
to  Pennsylvania's  best;  large  areas  of  dense  forests,  the  only  true  white  pine 
forests  in  Colorado  outside  of  San  Juan,  and  superior  lime,  as  well  as  great  and 
3 


34  GUNNISON    AND    SAN    JUAN. 

easily  utilized  water  power.  I  have  described  the  ores  in  my  previous  letters, 
and  will  only  add  that  about  every  grade  and  variety  of  gold  and  silver-bearing 
quartz  known  in  Rocky  Mountain  mining  is  found  in  this  region,  the  common 
forms  in  large  quantity.  The  field  is  not  half  occupied,  considering  the  mineral 
now  in  sight.  Following  is  the  present  complement :  One  smelter  at  Hillerton, 
20  tons  daily;  one  10-stamp  mill  at  Hillerton,  capacity  about  15  tons;  smelter 
at  Crested  Butte,  capacity  12  tons;  smelter  at  Independence  in  course  of  erec- 
tion, capacity  100  tons;  10-stamp  mill  at  Independence,  capacity  15  tons;  roast- 
er and  mill  in  Ruby  Camp,  capacity  15  tons ;  smelter  being  built  at  Irwin,  ca- 
pacity 40  tons ;  smelter  at  Schofield,  Rock  Creek,  20  tons ;  one  smelter  completed 
and  another  in  course  of  erection  at  Gothic,  capacity  of  each  20  tons.  This  gives 
a  total  capacity  of  about  270  tons  daily,  an  amount  of  ore  that  the  mines  of 
Ruby  Camp  alone  are  now  producing  and  next  season  can  easily  double. 

WHO  "PBOSPECTS"  AND  HOW  IT  IS  DONE. 

About  everybody  here  prospects  or  mines,  either  directly  or  "by  proxy." 
It  is  generally  considered  a  science  to  be  followed  only  by  those  skilled,  but 
you  would  be  astonishe^  to  hear  the  merchants,  the  doctors,  the  lawyers,  the 
preachers,  and  all  the  others  speculating  upon  their  show  for  a  fortune,  in  some 
mines  already  found,  or  in  one  for  which  they  have  somebody  hunting.  Some 
prominent  merchants  have  three  or  four  prospectors  in  the  field  constantly  in 
summer,  and  it;  is  the  best  way  to  acquire  mining  property  if  you  can  find  a 
reliable  and  experienced  man  to  do  the  work.  In  case  the  merchant  or  other 
who  "stakes"  the  prospector  desires  to  own  exclusively  every  claim  found,  he 
generally  pays  $100  wages  per  month;  but  if  he  allows  his  man  to  keep,  say  a 
one-fourth  interest  in  all  he  finds,  he  merely  furnishes  a  "grub  stake"  of  $25 
or  $30  per  month.  The  latter  is  much  the  best  plan,  because  a  bare  living  in- 
sured and  the  chance  of  making  a  fortune  is  a  much  greater  incentive  to  extra 
exertion  and  reliability  than  merely  fair  wages — a  deduction  that  may  be  found 
to  apply  elsewhere  occasionally.  A  very  large  proportion  of  our  mines  are 
found  in  this  way.  Sometimes,  as  in  the  case  of  Camp  Willard,  when  an  unu- 
sual sensation  is  created  by  rich  strikes  in  the  vicinity,  the  merchant,  mechanic 
or  professional  man  "stampedes"  with  the  rabble,  and  while  he  generally  comes 
back  with  "more  experience"  and  less  money  than  when  he  started,  he  some- 
times strikes  it  alongside  the  old  miner.  But  these  classes  rarely  want  anything 
with  a  mine  except  to  sell  it;  and  when  you  do  find  one  working  it,  he  swears 
he  is  doing  it  as  a  legitimate  thing ;  he  wouldn't  sell  for  the  world ;  got  the  mine 
ta  make  money  out  of  it ;  when  he  knows  away  down  in  his  ten  per  cent  con- 
sciousness that  he  never  dreamed  of  mining  when  he  "staked"  the  finder.  It 
is  a  mistaken  notion  that  old-timers  who  have  been  hunting  quartz  a  dozen  years 
or  more,  make  most  of  the  valuable  discoveries  in  an  absolutely  new  country 
like  Gunnison.  They  are  very  apt  to  come  from  other  mining  regions  and  apply 
rules  with  the  positiveness  which  characterizes  the  man  who  thinks  he  knows 
all  about  some  intricate  science,  and  in  the  vernacular  of  the  country,  "get  left" 
by  the  tenderfoot  novice  who,  far  from  home  and  friends  and  down  to  his  last 
dollar,  is  not  only  possessed  with  a  type  of  desperation  and  determination 
which  the  old  prospector  deems  unnecessary  in  his  business,  but  whose  head  is 
clear  of  all  hobbies  or  set  rules,  and  will  take  right  hold  anywhere  and  every- 
where to  turn  up  something.  Then  when  he  does  find  a  good  prospect  he  will 
be  more  apt  to  sell  for  a  reasonable  price  instead  of  spoiling  the  sale  entirely 
by  asking  a  fortune. 


GUNNISON  ATCD    SAN    JUAN.  35 

NEW  COME11S  //.I  VK  MADE  THE  STRIKES. 

The  discoverers  of  some  of  tin-  b<->t  mines  in  this  country  were  new  com- 
ers. The  Forest  Queen,  for  instance,  was  located  by  a  Marylander  who  had 
never  seen  a  mine  before,  and  who  had  just  arrived  the  night  before  from  his 
native  heath  by  ox-team,  of  which  he  was  engineer.  He  sensibly  pocketed 
f 50,000,  went  his  way  rejoicing,  and  was  called  a  fool  because  his  find  has  turned 
out  to  be  a  $2,000,000  bonanza.  Over  6,000  mines  have  been  located  in  the 
Gunnison  country,  and  probably  not  less  than  three-fourths  of  the  numbe'r  were 
easily  found  by  surface  croppings  which  any  novice  could  trace.  Several  thou- 
sand sales  have  been  made,  and  all  of  prospects  from  10  to  50  feet  deep.  To 
show  that  some  one  has  already  made  money  here  with  comparatively  slight 
exertion,  and  that  men  of  money  have  confidence  in  the  wealth  of  the  country, 
I  will  quote  a  few  transfers:  Dodson  Mine,  near  Pitkin,  $25,000;  Whopper,  on 
Rock  Creek,  $140,000;  Forest  Queen,  Irwin,  $40,000;  Belle  of  Titusville,  Rock 
Creek,  $60,000;  Bullion  King  and  Monte  Cristo,  Irwin,  $105,000;  Lead  Chief 
and  Independence,  Irwin,  $100,000  and  $120, 000  respectively;  Fairview,  Pitkin, 
$40,000;  Ruby  King,  Irwin,  $50,000.  While  old  prospectors  have,  as  a  rule, 
put  a  very  high  valuation  upon  their  finds,  the  purchasers  have  on  the  other 
hand  been  very  moderate  in  their  capitalization  upon  forming  stock  companies. 
As  instances,  the  Forest  Queen,  of  Irwin,  or  Sylvanite,  of  Gothic,  each  produc- 
ing their  thousands  daily,  and  having  millions  in  sight,  would  at  Leadville  or  on 
the  Pacific  coast  have  been  stocked  at  not  less  than  $20,000,000  each,  instead  of 
81,000,000  and  $4,000,000  respectively. 

GLIM  A  TE—S  TO  CK-EAISING. 

Gunnison  is  pre-eminently  a  mining  country,  and,  as  indicated  in  a  previous 
letter,  will  not  afford  many  more  desirable  homes  for  farmers.  The  average 
altitude  is  great — probably  8,000  feet  above  the  sea — the  area  falling  below 
7,000  feet,  and  in  which  hardy  grain  and  vegetables  can  be  produced  with  tol- 
erable regularity,  being  a  very  small  proportion — say  one  tenth — of  the  whole. 
Weather  records  are  almost  wholly  lacking,  so  that  the  climate,  even  of  that 
portion  that  has  been  inhabited  for  several  years,  cannot  be  treated  of  with  much 
satisfaction.  In  the  course  of  many  interviews  with  the  oldest  settlers  I  have 
gleaned  these  facts :  Summer  days  are  generally  clear,  electric,  invigorating,  and 
the  nights  are  always  cool ;  summer  temperature  60°  to  75°.  In  1877  there  was 
no  winter  in  the  valleys,  but  a  succession  of  beautiful  Indian  summer  days, 
up  to  Christmas.  A  foot  of  snow  fell  during  the  last  days  of  December, 
which  remained  on  the  ground  nearly  a  month.  There  was  no  other  snow- 
fall worth  noting  during  the  winter.  Mercury  sank  to  26  degrees  below 
zero  in  January,  remained  at  or  below  zero  for  days  at  a  time ;  but  the  few 
herds  of  cattle  then  in  the  country  wintered  without  loss,  and  received  no 
shelter  or  food  save  that  obtained  by  themselves  among  the  hills.  In  1878 
the  weather  was  exceedingly  mild  until  December,  and  there  was  not  enough 
snow  in  the  valleys  to  afford  a  week's  sleighing  during  the  entire  winter. 
Mercury  was  lowest — 24  degrees  below  zero — in  January.  Cattle  wintered  well 
without  hay.  This  winter,  like  the  previous  one,  "broke  up"  in  April. 
In  1879  snow  commenced  falling  November  20,  and  for  several  weeks  there 
were  storms  almost  daily  which  blockaded  the  roads  and  covered  the  pas- 
tures so  that  the  cattle  were  compelled  to  feed  on  willows.  The  snow  was 
three  feet  deep  in  Ohio  and  Gunnison  valleys  in  December,  and  receded  but 
little  until  April.  Mercury  remained  at  or  below  zero  during  January,  and  fell 


36  GUNNISON    AND    SAN    JUAN. 

to  36  and  40  degrees  below  at  variojis  points.  Many  cattle — not  less  than  10  per 
cent  of  all  in  the  Gunnison  country — died,  as  no  provision  had  been  made  for 
their  care.  In  1878  there  were  showers  in  summer  almost  daily,  but  in  1879 
and  1880  the  growing  seasons  were  so  dry  that  irrigation  had  to  be  practiced,  as 
elsewhere  on  the  Eocky  Mountain  plateau. 

In  the  lower  or  western  half  of  Gunnison  county  are  several  million  acres 
of  winter  and  summer  pasturage,  which  would  easily  sustain  50,000  head  of 
cattle .  That  section  will  be  thrown  open  to  settlement  by  the  terms  of  the 
treaty  now  in  progress  with  the  Utes. 

AGRICULTURE-WHAT  FARMERS  HAVE  DONE. 

Frosts  are  not  uncommon  in  the  valleys  as  late  in  the  spring  as  June  1,  and 
as  early  in  the  fall  as  September  1 .  Nevertheless,  Chas.  G.  Tinguely,  who  owns 
a  ranch  in  the  Ohio  valley,  three  miles  from  Gunnison  City,  has  produced  fine 
crops  of  barley,  oats,  potatoes  and  other  hardy  vegetables,  during  six  succes- 
sive seasons.  John  T.  Parlin,  who  has  a  splendid  dairy  farm  in  Tomitchi  Valley, 
twelve  miles  from  Gunnison,  has  had  the  same  success  for  the  past  three 
years,  and  I  could  quote  others  who  have  made  small  fortunes,  especially  on 
oats  and  potatoes,  the  past  two  seasons.  Wheat  is  being  produced  in  a 
small  way.  Hay,  however,  is  the  product  of  the  valleys  for  profit  since 
mining  has  necessitated  the  employment  of  so  many  animals.  Three  years 
ago  this  commodity  went  begging  at  $5  per  ton,  and  ranches  were  a  drug  on 
the  market  at  $5  per  acre.  Now  I  see  single  loads  of  hay  selling  almost 
any  day  at  $85,  and  a  good  hay  ranch  readily  sells  for  from  $30  to  $50  per 
acre.  An  acquaintance  of  mine  named  Mergelman,  whom  many  Denverites 
remember  as  a  poor  clerk  in  a  toy  store  in  that  city  three  years  ago,  now 
has  320  acres  of  hay  land,  some  twelve  miles  south  of  here,  which  nets  him 
from  f  50  to  $75  per  acre  each  season.  Last  season  he  sold  about  200  tons 
on  the  premises  for  $85  per  ton;  the  prospects  are  that  he  will  get  $100  per 
ton  this  winter.  His  land  cost  him  practically  nothing,  as  he  homesteaded 
and  pre-empted  it. 

It  is  a  mystery  how  so  many  of  the  tame  grasses,  such  as  red  top,  timothy 
and  blue  grass,  took  root  in  the  various  valleys,  as  they  were  all  found  here 
by  the  earliest  known  pioneers.  As  for  the  flora  of  the  parks  and  mountains, 
it  surpasses  in  richness  and  variety  that  of  our  eastern  States.  Hundreds  of 
the  most  beautiful  and  delicately  colored  varieties  are  new  to  the  denizen  of 
the  East,  but  he  will  find  all  such  old  friends  as  the  columbine,  violet,  rose, 
blue-bell,  verbena,  larkspur,  harebell,  daisy,  astor  and  buttercup  greeting  him 

on  every  hand. 

VALLEYS,  PRICES  OF  PRODUCE,  ETC. 

The  principal  valleys  are  the  Gunnison,  Tomitchi  and  Ohio.  The  two  first- 
named  each  afford  an  arable  strip  of  about  30  miles  in  length  by  one  mile  in 
width,  while  the  Ohio  Valley  is  about  20  miles  long  and  a  mile  wide.  Each  of 
these  will  still  furnish  room  for  a  few  dozen  first-class  ranches,  and  their  small 
tributaries  also  afford  a  few  cozy  nooks  for  the  incoming  farmer.  Higher  up 
these  valleys,  and  in  many  little  mountain  parks  are  good  locations  for  dairy- 
men, where  cattle  could  obtain  splendid  pasturage  for  eight  months  in  the  year, 
but  would  have  to  be  fed  during  the  other  four,  and  where  the  climate  is  too 
.rigorous  to  admit  of  the  cultivation  of  the  soil. 

All  the  pine,  spruce  and  cedar  timber  that  may  ever  be  required  here  for  build- 
ting,  5inining  or  fencing  purposes,  will  be  found  on  the  many  mountain  ranges, 


GUNNIBON    AND    SAN    JUAN.  37 

and  one  cannot  go  amiss  of  clear,  dashing  streams  and  beautiful  lake  : 
should  add  that  most  of  the  good  hay  lands  on  river  and  creek  bottoms  are 
claimed,  but  the  more  extensive  bench  lands  overlooking  them,  which,  after 
being  irrigated  one  or  two  seasons  without  seeding,  will  produce  from  one  to 
one  and  a  half  tons  of  superior  hay  per  acre,  are  nearly  all  open  to  entry.  The 
bench  lands  are  more  desirable  for  agricultural  purposes  than  the  bottoms,  as 
they  are  less  liable  to  frosts,  and  the  latter  are  taken  first  only  because  irrigation 
is  not  necessary  to  produce  hay  upon  them.  From  one  to  two  miles  of  irrigat- 
ing ditch,  costing  from  $100  to  $150  per  mile,  will  cover  claims  of  the  average 
elevation  on  the  "first  benches."  The  few  who  take  possession  of  Gunnison's 
arable  area  will  indeed  "  strike  it  rich,"  for  the  market  furnished  by  the  miner 
will  always  be  the  best  in  the  world,  and  the  prairies  of  Kansas  and  Nebraska 
are  too  far  away  to  ever  compete  with  the  resident  farmer,  even  with  rail  com- 
munication. Oats  are  now  quoted  at  $6.50  per  100  pounds;  potatoes,  $3  per 
100  pounds ;  all  such  vegetables  as  cabbage,  beans,  beets,  turnips,  etc.,  from  $6 
to  $12  per  100  pounds;  butter,  50  cents  per  pound;  eggs,  40  to  50  cents  per 
dozen. 

MONEY  IN  REAL  ESTATE. 

I  have  in  a  previous  letter  ventured  some  suggestions  to  capitalists  or 
men  of  moderate  means  concerning  Gunnison  mining  camps  as  desirable  fields 
for  investment,  but  I  believe  only  allusion  has  been  made  to  operations  in  real 
estate,  to  merchandising  or  manufacturing.  There  will  be  four  or  five  good 
solid  towns  in  Gunnison — towns  possessing  in  two  or  three  years  from  3,000  to 
7,000  permanent  residents  each.  The  bulk  of  the  money  has  probably  already 
been  made  on  Gunnison  town  lots,  but  thousands  of  dollars  are  yet  to  be  made, 
and  those  who  arrive  this  fall  or  early  next  spring  will  do  the  gleaning.  Jim 
Kelley,  an  old  Government  herder,  located  half  of  the  present  town  eite  of 
Gunnison  a  year  ago,  at  an  expense  of  $1.25  per  acre.  In  May  of  the  present 
year,  he  sold  his  interest  to  Jack  Haverly  and  associates  for  $30,000.  Haver- 
ly  was  called  foolish,  and  Gunnison  property  has  month  by  month  been  called 
too  high,  but  it  continues  to  advance,  and  men  who  purchased  lots  from  Haver- 
ly three  months  ago  for  a  few  hundred  dollars  now  hold  at  a  thousand,  and 
the  end  is  not  yet.  Less  than  a  year  ago,  a  few  miners  organized  the  town  of 
Irwin,  in  Kuby  camp,  and  sold  lots  at  $10  each.  Those  same  lots  sell  readily 
now  for  $500  to  $1,500  each,  and  from  present  prospects  will  double  in  value 
inside  of  the  next  year.  Pitkin,  Gothic,  Crested  Butte,  and  other  points  whose 
foundations  are  gold  and  silver,  are  undergoing  the  same  experience,  and  call  it 
extravagance,  "mushroom  growth,"  or  what  you  will,  these  fissure-vein  mining 
camps  will  furnish  as  many  examples  of  suddenly  acquired  wealth  in  real  estate 
speculation  in  their  business  centers  as  in  the  mines  themselves.  Gunnison 
ranch  property  is  also  worth  looking  after.  Unsettled  and  unimproved  tracts, 
now  to  be  had  for  the  simple  taking,  so  limited  In  extent,  located  in  sight  of 
rich  and  populous  mineral  districts,  and  easily  rendered  productive,  are  worth 
intrinsically  more,  acre  for  acre,  than  the  gardens  of  Long  Island,  simply  be- 
cause their  productions  will  always  sell  for  double,  triple  or  quadruple  the 
price  ever  realized  from  those  of  the  latter. 

SOME  OF  GUNNISON'S  NEEDS. 

Small  foundries  or  machine  shops  are  needed  sadly  in  Irwin,  Gothic  and 
Gunnison,  and  a  lucrative  business  awaits  a  good  hotel  man  in  three  or  four  of 
the  best  towns.  Irwin,  Gothic,  Pitkin,  and  several  other  points,  each  need. 


38  GUNNISON    AND    SAN    JUAN. 

good  stock  of  furniture  and  a  good  stationery  house.  Dealers  in  mining  and 
milling  machinery  would  find  it  profitable  to  survey  this  entire  field.  There  are 
plenty  of  good  clothing,  grocery  and  dry-goods  houses,  but  one  or  two  more 
hardware  establishments  could  find  locations.  There  is  but  one  good  planing 
mill  in  the  country,  and  three  or  four  will  doubtless  find  desirable  openings  next 
spring.  Goods  in  all  lines  must  be  first-class  in  this  country — the  best  prices 
are  readily  obtainable  for  them,  while  cheap  and  shoddy  wares  can  hardly  be 
given  away.  As  an  illustration  of  what  a  little  capital  backed  with  plenty  of 
energy  and  good  judgment  will  do  in  a  new  country,  I  will  mention  the  case  of 
some  acquaintances  here — and  it  is  only  one  of  dozens  that  have  come  to  my 
notice  on  my  trip.  Two  young  gentlemen  last  June  bought  a  stock  of  general 
merchandise,  which  invoiced  $11,000,  paying  $1,800  in  cash  and  agreeing  to  give 
one-half  the  receipts  each  day  until  the  remaining  $9,200  was  paid.  The  entire 
amount  was  paid  in  six  weeks  and  the  firm  is  now  one  of  the  best  in  Gunnison ; 
it  will  pay  $10,000  for  freight  this  season. 

Business  is  done  on  a  cash  basis,  and  it  is  one  of  the  very  few  countries  in 
which  people  seem  to  buy  things  only  when  they  have  the  money  in  their  pock- 
ets to  pay.  This  season,  although  a  generally  prosperous  one  for  the  merchant, 
is  for  certain  reasons  less  lively  than  succeeding  ones  will  doubtless  be.  Pros- 
pectors and  others  who  came  into  the  country  early  in  the  summer  almost  in- 
variably brought  loads  of  supplies  with  them,  because  it  was  generally  believed 
that  no  adequate  supply  of  goods  were  here,  or  would  be  until  very  late.  Thus 
it  has  happened  that  goods  have  often  been  sold  by  the  wagon  load  on  the 
streets  for  what  they  would  bring.  Business  is  now  settled,  Gunnison  is  no 
longer  a  wilderness  and  the  Gunnison  merchant  will  hereafter  get  what  right- 
fully belongs  to  him.  Rents  of  business  houses  vary  but  little  in  the  different 
towns.  One  floor,  say  25x75  feet,  $75  to  $100  per  month;  shops  or  smaller 
houses,  $40  to  $60.  Freights  on  merchandise  from  Chicago  or  St.  Louis  to  Gun- 
nison, 3  to  4  cents  per  pound ;  from  Denver,  2  to  2^  cents.  Insurance  is  obtaina- 
ble only  at  heavy  premiums  on  account  of  the  large  preponderance  of  frame  build- 
ings, but  this  is  constantly  improving  as  the  flimsy  structures  are  gradually  giving 
way  to  those  of  brick  and  stone.  Interest  on  loans,  1)4  to  3  per  cent  per 
month.  Banking  facilities  are  first-class,  the  Bank  of  Gunnison,  located  here, 
having  for  its  backers  such  men  as  Governor  Tabor  and  for  its  manager  Colonel 
Sam.  G.  Gill,  for  many  years  prominently  identified  with  that  colossal  Western 
institution,  the  First  National,  of  Denver. 

EMPLOYMENT  AND  WAGES. 

It  is  a  frequent  remark  just  now  throughout  the  country  that  Gunnison  is 
full  of  men  out  of  employment.  To  some  extent  the  charge  is  true.  But  the 
trouble  lays  with  the  men,  not  with  the  country.  Those  who  are  idle  are  as 
a  rule  the  class  who  sit  beside  the  stove  of  some  saloon  looking  for  work.  I 
have  investigated  this  matter  very  closely,  and  while  I  have  occasionally  found 
men  walking  towards  the  Atlantic  cursing  the  country,  I  have  more  often  found 
employers  keenly  on  the  watch  for  reliable  help .  I  will  go  so  far  as  to  say  I 
I  don't  believe  there  is  a  man  in  the  Gunnison  country  to-day  who  need  be  idle 
forty-eight  hours  if  he  is  willing  to  roll  up  his  sleeves  and  take  hold  of  good, 
healthy  manual  -labor — at  anything  that  presents  itself.  It  is  like  many  other 
things  in  a  new  country;  for  instance,  you  will  meet  half  a  dozen  men  on  the 
way  out  of  Gunnison,  swearing  there  is  not  a  good  mining  property  in  it,  and 
you  will  meet  another  half  dozen  who  can  show  the  nice  lictle  home-stake  of 
hard  cash  they  have  just  leceived  for  a  mine.  Mechanics  and  thorough  miners 


•  .I -NM>.  i.\     AND    SAN    JUAN.  39 

are  more  in  demand  than  laborers,  and  luui>c-scrvants  more  than  all  other 
classes  eombined.  Following  arc  avcragi  \vau« -s  at  pi<-^-nt:  Carpenters,  $3.60 
per  day ;  bricklayers,  masons  and  plasterers,  $5  per  day;  blacksmiths,  $4  per 
day;  laborers,  SL'..">I>  per  day:  house  servants,  $25  per  month  and  board;  hotel 
waiters,  *^:>  per  month:  cooks,  $75  permonth;  teamsters,  $30  per  month  and 
board;  tinners,  $3.50  per  day. 

LIVING  EXPENSES,  BUILDING  MATERIAL,  ETC. 

Thousands  will  come  to  Gunnison  next  year,  and  they  should  have  an  idea 
before  starting  of  what  living  expenses  will  be  in  their  new  home.  Following 
are  figures  that  rule  just  now,  and  it  is  just  to  say  that  the  two  railways  which 
will  penetrate  Gunnison  next  year,  will,  before  any  considerable  influx  can  oc- 
cur, have  the  effect  of  cheapening  many  items  materially :  Flour,  $6.50  to  $7.25 
per  100  pounds;  corn  meal,  $6;  sugar-cured  hams,  18  cents  per  pound;  lard,  18 
cents;  butter,  50  cents;  granulated  sugar,  18  cents;  coffee  "A"  sugar,  \1% 
cents;  dried  fruits  20  to  30  cents;  coffee,  green,  25  to  30  cents;  tea,  80  cents  to 
$1.60;  fruits  and  vegetables,  two-pound  cans,  30  to  35  cents;  all  fresh  vegeta- 
bles, 8  to  10  cents  per  pound;  chickens,  $10  to  $12  per  dozen;  milk,  10  cents 
per  quart;  steaks,  15  to  20  cents  per  pound;  roasts,  12  to  15;  venison,  elk  and 
bear,  10  to  15;  mountain  trout,  30  to  40  cents  per  pound;  day  board,  $5.50  to 
$10  per  week;  board  and  lodgings,  $10  to  $20.  Rents  of  three  and  four-room 
cottages,  $18  to  $25  per  month;  livery,  double-seated  carriage,  §8  per  day; 
single- seat,  $5;  riding  horses,  $4;  boarding  horses  at  stables,  $4  per  team  per 
day;  dressed  lumber,  $40  to  $5Q,  and  rough  lumber,  $30  to  $40  per  1,000  feet; 
shingles,  $5.50  per  1,000;  bricks,  $10  to  $12  per  1,000;  superb  building  stone, 
$1.25  per  perch. 

EOUTES,  EATES,  DISTANCES  AND   TOLLS. 

How  to  get  here  and  the  cost,  as  well  as  the  facilities  for  travel  in  the  Gun- 
nison country,  are  questions  no  doubt  daily  asked  in  the  outside  world.  Gun- 
nison is  as  easily  reached  as  was  Leadville  a  year  ago,  and  railways  are  ap- 
proaching so  rapidly  that  the  travel  of  another  season  will  mainly  come  by  rail 
right  to  this  site  of  the  principal  Ute  camp  of  a  year  ago.  From  the  Eastern 
seaboard  to  tfce  Missouri  River  in  these  days  of  elaborate  railway  advertising  the 
route  is  plain,  and  thence  to  Denver  one  cannot  well  go  amiss.  If  the  traveller 
reaches  the  Missouri  at  Kansas  City  or  Leavenworth  he  takes  the  old  Kansas 
Pacific  line;  if  he  comes  by  the  more  northerly  belt  and  lands  at  Omaha,  the 
Union  Pacific  is  the  open  sesame.  By  either  of  these  routes  he  comes  from  the 
Missouri  River  to  Denver  in  about  thirty-one  hours ;  there  connecting  with 
trains  of  either  the  Denver,  South  Park  and  Pacific,  or  Denver  and  Rio  Grande 
railways,  he  journeys  through  some  of  Colorado's  grandest  scenery  some  ten 
hours  to  those  common  points,  Alpine  (present  terminus  D.,  S.  P.  &  P.  Rail- 
way), and  Poncha  Springs  (on  the  D.  &  R.  G.  Railway),  from  where  Concord 
coaches  of  the  Sanderson  line  convey  him  through  to  Gunnison  City  in  ten  or 
twelve  hours  more.  Time  from  either  Kansas  City,  Leavenworth  or  Omaha  to 
Gunnison,  about  fifty-one  hours;  fares  from  either  of  these  points  rule  about  as 
follows:  To  Gunnison  or  Pitkin,  first-class,  $46.70;  emigrant  (which  on  these 
lines  means  second-class  passage  on  express  trains),  $39.70;  to  Irwin,  Ruby 
Camp  and  Gothic,  first-class,  $52.70;  emigrant,  $45.70.  Holders  of  emigrant 
tickets  on  the  Kansas  and  Union  Pacific  line  allowed  150  to  200  pounds  of  bag- 
gage free. 

From  Gunnison  there  are  daily  stage  lines  to  Irwin,  Gothic,  Crested  Butte, 
Pitkin,  and  all  other  prominent  points.  Distances  and  rates  from  Gunuison  are 


40  GUNNISON    AND    SAN    JUAN. 

as  follows :  Irwin,  Ruby  Camp,  30  miles,  fare  $6 ;  to  Crested  Butte,  27  miles, 
fare  $4;  to  Gothic,  36  miles,  fare  $5;  to  Pitkin,  26  miles,  fare  $4;  to  Ohio  City, 
18  miles,  $3.25;  to  Jack's  Cabin,  17  miles,  fare  $2.50;  to  Lake  City,  60  miles, 
$8.50;  toOuray,  110  miles,  $16.50.  It  may  interest  those  who  are  coming  in 
conveyances  of  their  own  to  know  that  nearly  all  roads  in  the  Gunnison  country 
are  toll-roads,  and  that  the  tolls  for  each  ten  miles  will  average  about  as  fol- 
lows :  For  two-horse  team  and  wagon,  $1 ;  each  additional  team,  50  cents ;  saddle 
animals,  25  cents;  one  horse  and  carriage,  50  cents.  Occasionally  we  strike  a 
toll-bridge,  or  rather  the  toll-bridge  strikes  us— with  wonderment— when  the 
rates  are  announced,  which  are  all  the  way  from  10  cents  for  a  footman  to  $1 
for  teams.  A  bridge  costing  $500,  across  the  Gunnison  River  near  here,  has 
had  average  receipts  of  $65  per  day  all  this  summer. 

POPULATION,  VALUATION,  HEALTHFULNESS. 
Among  the  many  items  which  suggest  themselves  as  I  close  are  those  relat- 
ing to  Araluation,  population,  society,  healthfulness,  &c.  The  permanent  towns, 
whose  sites  one  year  ago  were  hardly  marked  by  a  single  cabin,  are  Gunnison, 
population  2,000;  Aspen,  1,000;  Pitkin,  1,500;  Willard,  2,500;  Irwin,  3,000; 
Gothic,  1,000;  Schofleld,  800;  Tomitchi,  500;  Spring  Creek,  600;  Independence, 
500.  Schools,  churches,  libraries,  and  secret  societies  are  being  established  in 
all  of  these.  The  assessed  valuation  of  Gunnison  county  one  year  ago  was 
about  $130,000  and  is  now  about  $1,000,000.  The  Gunnison  or  Elk  Mountain 
country — at  all  times  and  places  presenting  a  magnificent  landscape,  its  moun- 
tains fairly  ribbed  with  gold,  silver,  iron  and  coal  and  its  valleys  'fertile  and 
traversed  by  streams  alive  with  trout,  its  forests  abounding  in  noble  game,  its 
climate  rigorous  but  healthful  to  the  end,  and  its  geology  a  law  and  mystery 
unto  itself — is  surely  an  inviting  field  for  wasting  energy  or  capital,  for  the  sci- 
entist and  the  devotee  of  rod  and  gun. 


ST  JUA:N. 


THE    HOME    OF    TRUE    FISSURE    VEINS  —  LAKE,    GALENA,  ANIMAS, 

OURAY,  SAN  MIGUEL,  SILVER  TON,  RICO,  AND 

OTHER    DISTRICTS. 

Adjoining  the  Gunnison  country  on  the  south  is  the  vast  mountain  region  of 
San  Juan,  soon  to  be  known  as  one  of  the  greatest  silver  producers  in  the 
world.  It  occupies  15,000  square  miles  of  Southwestern  Colorado — a  region 
greater  in  extent  than  either  New  Jersey,  New  Hampshire  or  Vermont,  with 
Delaware  thrown  in— and,  like  its  northern  neighbor,  it  is  composed  of  a  series 
of  the  most  stupendous  mountain  ranges  in  the  world.  As  one  writer  has  ex- 
pressed it,  "There  is  probably  more  country  standing  on  edge  in  this  section 
than  any  where  else  beneath  the  sun."  These  mountains  contain  thousands  of 
silver  veins,  many  of  huge  size  and  some  of  great  richness.  In  fact,  well-in- 
formed miners  and  geologists  tell  us  that  they  present  a  greater  number  of  true 
fissure  mineral  veins,  easily  traceable  upon  their  towering  fronts  and  summits, 
than  any  known  region  of  similar  extent  on  the  globe.  The  silver  belt  is  from  30  to 
40  miles  wide  and  nearly  100  miles  long.  It  has  taken  years  to  build  a  few  roads 


O  UNNIS<  .  N     A  M  >     -  A  N     .1  I  •  A  N.  41 

through  tins  Tugged  and  almost  impassable  country,  and  tin-  heavy  snows  and 
long  winters  have  also  been  a  serious  drawback  to  growth  and  development.  It 
has  been  a  quite  recent  tiling  to  attempt  to  mine  thnv  in  winter  cxcrj.t  in  run- 
ning a  few  tunnels,  but.  the  rapid  approach  of  the  Dnm-r,  South  Park  ^  I'adlic 
and  Denver  &  Rio  Grande  Railways  is  changing  the  whole  face  of  things. 

Access  is  now  comparatively  easy,  smelters  are  being  built,  and  a  market  is 
being  created  for  ores,  which,  though  classed  high  grade,  were  until  the  pres- 
ent almost  worthless, 'because  transportation  and  reduction  consumed  their 
value.  So  we  may  confidently  look  for  great  developments  in  San  Juan  during 
1881.  Up  to  1880  the  entire  silver  and  gold  yield  of  the  region  was  .$1,501,000; 
it  has  single  mines  which,  with  proper  development,  should  yield  that  amount 
annually.  With  the  exception  of  those  in  one  or  two  small  districts,  which  are 
rich  in  gold,  its  ores  are  principally  galena,  carrying  silver  in  the  form  of 
"ruby,>J  "sulphurets,"  "gray  copper"  and  "native."  The  veins  are  not  as 
conspicuous  for  their  great  size  as  those  of  Guunison  (usually  ranging  from  1  to 
3  feet  in  width),  but  for  their  great  length,  their  continuous  fair  average  grade, 
and,  as  already  noted,  the  wonderful  frequency  of  their  occurrence  in  various 

formations. 

SUMMIT  DISTRICT. 

Commencing  with  the  eastern  edge  of  San  Juan,  we  first  encounter  Summit 
Gold  Mining  District,  which  has  been  made  famous  principally  by  the  Little 
Annie  and  Golden  Queen  claims.  The  former  has  yielded  about  $500,000,  its 
product  being  worked  in  a  small  10-stamp  mill,  and  the  latter  has  recently  been 
producing  several  thousand  dollars  per  week.  Many  tons  of  the  rich,  decom- 
posed quartz  of  these  mines  have  yielded  from  $500  to  $1,000  per  ton,  and  at 
different  times  during  the  past  five  years  Summit  Mountains  have  been  the  scene 
of  wild  stampedes  on  account  of  oft-recurring  strikes  of  "pockets"  in  these  and 
other  properties  which  literally  sparkled  with  their  wealth  ot  native  gold.  But 
the  Summit  Hills  have  been  pretty  well  prospected,  and  to  my  mind  the  bright- 
est field  in  San  Juan  for  either  capitalist  or  prospector  is  in  the  silver  districts 

farther  west. 

LAKE  DISTRICT, 

in  the  northern  central  portion  of  San  Juan  is  one  of  these.  It  contains  nearly 
1,000  located  veins,  most  of  them  silver,  a  few  very  rich  in  gold,  and  has  thus 
•  far  furnished  the  bulk  of  southwestern  Colorado's  bullion  output.  On  the 
mountains  bordering  Hensen  Creek  are  some  of  the  most  noted  lodes.  Five 
miles  from  Lake  City  are  the  Ute  and  Ule,  the  former  having  from  5  to  7  feet  of 
solid  mineral,  and  the  latter  nearly  as  much.  These  great  veins  yield  from  $10 
to  $500  silver  per  ton,  $30  or  $40  in  lead  and  from  $3  to  $10  in  gold.  Their 
yield  in  1879  and  1880  was  about  $225,000.  The  Belle  of  the  West,  in  the  same 
district,  shows  from  G  inches  to  2  feet  of  ore  which  averages  over  $100  per  ton. 
The  mines  on  the  Lake  Fork  of  the  Gunnison  are  admirably  located  near  the 
valley,  cutting  the  mountains  at  right  angles,  so  that  tunnels  can  be  driven  in 
on  them.  Thus  expensive  shafts  and  crosscut  tunnels  are  unnecessary.  Among 
them  the  Hotchkiss  is  probably  the  most  noted,  having  a  tremendous  vein  of 
some  7  feet  in  width  and  yielding  some  very  high  grade  telurium  ore.  An  ex- 
citing gold  discovery  was  made  on  Gold  Hill,  only  a  few  miles  above  Lake  City, 
recently,  and  another  along  the  Cimmaron,  18  miles  away,  on  ground  which 
prospectors  have  roamed  over  for  years.  It  shows  that  there  is  plenty  of 
room  for  the  prospector.  There  are  some  70  mines,  all  of  which  show  good  ore 
bodies,  being  actively  developed  in  Lake  District.  Many  more  are  worked  to- 


42  GUNNISON    AND    SAN    JUAN. 

some  extent,  and  the  mountains  are  practically  worked.  There  are  several 
smelting  establishments  in  the  district,  the  Crooke  Works  at  Lake  City  being 
the  most  extensive  and  successful. 

PARK  DISTRICT  AND  ENGINEER  MOUNTAIN. 

Near  the  head  of  Henson  Creek,  about  20  miles  from  Lake  City,  at  an  alti- 
tude of  13,000  feet,  are  the  Inez  and  other  prominent  mines  of  Park  District. 
The  Inez  has  produced  many  tons  of  decomposed  sulphurets  worth  $150  per 
ton.  The  Palmetto  mine,  on  the  northern  slope  of  Engineer  Mountain,  is  one 
of  the  budding  bonanzas  of  San  Juan.  It  has  produced  ore  in  40-ton  lots  which 
sold  for  from  $200  to  $450  per  ton.  It  shows  a  vein  from  12  to  24  inches  wide, 
carrying  ruby,  brittle  and  wire  silver.  Hoisting  and  reduction  works  are  being 
erected  by  the  Palmetto  Company  and  the  bullion  output  for  1881  will  undoubt- 
edly be  a  heavy  one.  The  Mammoth,  a  neighboring  claim,  shows  4  feet  8  inches 
of  good  smelting  ore,  whose  average  mill  runs  are:  First-class,  $1,200  to  $1,500 
per  ton;  second-class,  277  ounces  silver  and  3  ounces  gold;  third-class,  119 
ounces  silver  and  \yz  ounces  gold.  Sample  tests  for  sorting  on  the  dump  show : 
First-class,  from  $2,000  to  $3,500  silver  and  $80  gold;  second-class,  1,040  and 
820  ounces  silver  and  3  ounces  gold;  third-class,  277  ounces  silver  and  2  6-10 
ounces  gold,  and  189  ounces  silver  and  1  ounce  gold.  The  Polar  Star  is  also  a 
mine  of  high  local  reputation. 

ANIMAS  FORKS. 

Animas  Forks,  situated  at  the  confluences  of  the  North  and  West  forks  of 
the  Animas  River,  some  27  miles  southeast  of  Lake  City,  is  the  center  of  a  large 
mining  region,  comprising  Poughkeepsie,  Placer  and  California  gulches  on  the 
north  and  west,  and  Burns'  and  Picayune  gulches  on  the  south.  It  is  surround- 
ed by  lofty  mountain  peaks  on  every  side,  and  in  whatever  direction  the  eye  of 
the  observer  may  be  turned  the  work  of  the  miner  and  capitalist  can  be  seen. 

The  concentration  works  of  Greenleaf  &  Co.  are  located  here,  while  Pro- 
fessor Jas.  A.  Cherry  has  built  a  10-ton  smelter  just  below  the  town.  He  is 
backed  by  Chicago  capital,  and  will  obtain  ore  enough  from  the  Red  Cross, 
Eclipse  and  other  mines  of  his  company  to  supply  the  smelter. 

Prof.  Cherry  informs  us  that  the  Red  Cross  shows  four  feet  of  solid  galena 
carrying  gray  copper.  It  opened  with  ore  running  less  than  eight  ounces  and 
will  now  average  over  160,  while  selected  ores  assay  1,300.  The  Eclipse  is  a 
lower  extension  of  the  famous  Mountain  Queen,  at  the  head  of  the  left  fork  of 
the  Animas.  It  shows  10  feet  of  solid  galena  carrying  gray  copper  and  brittle 
silver,  which  the  Professor  says  will  average  60  ounces  silver.  There  are  five 
well  defined  pay-streaks  in  the  vein.  The  Maid  of  the  Mist,  Red  Cloud,  Masto- 
don and  Boston  are  all  rich  mines  in  the  vicinity  of  Animas  Forks.  The  Ash  ta- 
bula pay  vein  is  two  feet  wide.  Several  veins  in  this  district  have  been  traced 
from  one  to  two  miles  on  the  surface. 

SILVERTON  AND  SURROUNDING  DISTRICTS. 
About  40  miles  southwest  of  Lake  City,  in  Baker's  Park,  and  in  the  center 
of  the  San  Juan  mineral  belt  is  Silverton.  On  Hazelton  Mountain,  which  slopes 
almost  to  the  edge  of  the  town  site,  are  situated  the  Aspen,  the  Susquehanna, 
Prospector,  Gray  Eagle  and  McGregor,  as  well  as  many  other  mines  which  have 
produced  ore  for  the  market.  On  Sultan  Mountain,  which  joins  its  southern 
boundary,  are  the  North  Star,  Empire,  Ajax,  Belcher  and  Jennie  Parker,  all  pro- 
ducing mines,  with  many  more  equally  good  awaiting  development  by  cross-cut 
tunnels  to  make  them  add  to  the  volume  of  mineral  wealth  to  be  brought  here 


GUNNI8ON  AND    SAN    .it  AN.  43 

for  ultimate  market  from  that  mountain.  On  Kendall  and  King  Solomon  Moun- 
tains are  also  many  veins  rich  in  silver  and  lead.  The  frame  is  true  of  the  sur- 
rounding mountains  fora  dozen  miles  in  all  directions,  every  one  of  which  is 
scarred  with  a  net  work  of  fissure  veins  bearing  silver. 

The  Aspen,  on  Hazleton  Mountain,  has  yielded  over  1,000  tons  of  ore  which, 
in  (ireen  &  Co.'s  Silverton  smelter,  averaged  114  ounces  silver  per  ton  and  GO 
per  cent  lead.  The  Susquehanna,  on  the  same  mountain,  has  had  about  200 
tons  of  ore  smelted  which  averaged  $160  silver  per  ton  and  60  per  cent  lead.  It 
has  yielded  ore  worth  $1,200  per  ton.  On  silver-ribbed  King  Solomon  Moun- 
tain are  many  veins  traceable  for  miles  by  great  croppings  on  the  surface.  The 
North  Star  is  40  feet  in  width  and  has  been  traced  for  three  miles.  The  ores 
are  argentiferous  galena,  gray  copper  and  yellow  sulphide  of  copper,  contain- 
ing from  40  to  400  ounces  silver  per  ton  and  60  to  65  per  cent  lead.  The  pro- 
duct for  recent  years  has  averaged  $155  per  ton  silver  besides  the  lead.  The 
Highland  Mary  is  also  a  noted  mine.  Near  the  base  of  Sultan  Mountain 
is  the  North  Star,  whose  value  may  be  judged  from  the  fact  that  one-half  of  a 
six  months  lease  on  it  has  been  sold  for  $10,000.  It  has  something  like  2,000 
tons  of  ore  on  the  dump,  worth  an  even  $200,000,  and  it  is  believed  it  could  alone 
supply  a  small  smelter  with  ore  year  after  year.  The  Cleveland,  an  adjoining 
claim  on  Sultan  Mountain,  has  yielded  small  lots  of  ore,  averaging  600  ounces 
silver  per  ton.  The  Denver  &  Rio  Grande  Railway  will  probably  reach  Silver- 
ton  during  autumn  of  1881. 

Eureka,  seven  miles  above  Silverton,  on  the  Animas  River,  is  surrounded  by 
towering  mountains,  where  galena  veins  crop  out  on  the  surface  in  a  remark- 
able manner.  The  Niagara  Consolidated  Mining  and  Reduction  Company,  under 
the  able  management  of  Prof.  Theo.  B.  Comstock,  is  delving  into  the  depths 
from  the  summit  of  Niagara  Mountain,  unearthing  and  utilizing  a  rich  body  of 
mineral. 

THE  MINES  OF  POUGHKEEPSIE  GULCH 

lie  just  over  the  crest  of  the  Uncompahgre  Mountain,  20  miles  north  from  the 
Silverton  country.  The  mines  are  about  the  head  waters  of  the  Uncompahgre 
River,  that  flows  north  into  the  Gunnison,  and  its  numerous  tributaries  coming 
down  from  the  mountain  heights  on  the  south  and  west.  The  district  really  ex- 
tends down  from  the  mountains  to  the  north,  merging  into  that  surrounding 
Ouray.  The  mountain  sides  all  along  and  all  through  this  extent,  are  thickly 
seamed  with  silver  lodes  that  show  assays  of  from  one  to  two  thousand  dollars. 

In  the  Poughkeepsie  Gulch  region  are  such  noted  silver  mines  as  the  Saxon, 
yielding  ores  worth  $1,700  to  the  ton;  the  Alaska,  $997;  the  Poughkeepsie, 
$95;  Bonanza,  $125;  the  Red  Rogue,  Adelphi  and  others,  all  producing  rich 
ores.  The  mountains  surrounding  Poughkeepsie  Gulch  are  exceedingly  rough, 
and  will  be  a  good  field  for  the  prospector  ten  years  hence  at  present  rate  of 
development. 

OURAY,  MOUNT  SNEFFLES  AND  SAN  MIGUEL. 

Ouray  is  the  center  of  a  vast  area  of  rich  mineral  country  in  the  north- 
western portion  of  San  Juan.  It  is  reached  from  the  south  via  Silverton,  or 
from  the  north  via  Gunnison  City.  Mount  Sneffles  is  the  most  important  dis- 
trict in  the  vicinity.  It  embraces  all  the  mines  located  up  Cation  Creek  and  on 
Potosi  Mountain,  Ruby  Mountain,  Stony  Point,  Sneffles  Basin,  Imogene  Basins 
and  Virginius  Basin,  and  they  include  some  of  the  richest  mines  in  the  §an 
Juan.  Passing  up  Canon  Creek  to  Mount  Sneffles,  the  first  important  piece  of 


44:  GUNNISON    AND    SAN    JUAN. 

property  is  the  Mineral  Farm,  comprising  lour  locations  and  being  really  forty 
acres  of  solid  mineral  digging,  which  several  years  ago  sold  for  $75,000.  Any 
portion  of  this  forty  acres  will  expose  mineral  in  paying  condition  from  the 
very  grass  roots. 

Near  by  is  the  Virginias  mine,  which  has  produced  during  the  past  two  years 
large  quantities  of  high  grade  ore,  and  has  recently  been  sold  by  C.  C.  Alvord, 
of  Denver,  for  the  comfortable  sum  of  $100,000.  Its  ores  have  averaged  nearly 
$400  per  ton.  The  Terrible,  located  in  the  same  basin  with  the  Virginius,  has 
also  recently  been  sold  for  $50,000.  The  Smuggler,  owned  by  Ingraham  & 
Ohlwiler,  stands  out  as  one  of  the  richest  mines  in  the  State,  producing  both 
gold  and  silver  in  large  quantities. 

On  what  is  known  as  Ruby  Mountain  there  are  located  such  well-known 
mines  as  the  Wheel  of  Fortune,  Silver  Queen,  Monetizer,  Grand  Trunk  and 
Mark  Twain.  These  mines  are  owned  by  a  company  with  Governor  Hoyt,  of 
Pennsylvania,  at  its  head.  The  Hoosier  Girl,  Pocahontas,  Crusader,  Gertrude, 
Talisman,  U.  S.  Deposit,  Richmond,  Hidden  Treasure,  Security,  Revenue, 
Declaration,  First  National,  Saracen  and  Imogene,  are  also  located  on  Ruby 
Mountain  and  in  the  Imogene  Basin,  all  being  very  valuable  pieces  of  property, 
upon  which  development  is  being  systematically  pushed.  The  Hidden  Treasure 
has  an  18-inch  vein  of  gray  copper,  which,  in  the  smelting  works,  has  averaged 
about  $200  per  ton. 

San  Miguel  district  occupies  a  tract  of  country  40  miles  broad  by  some  65 
miles  long,  and  located  just  west  of  Ouray  and  Mount  Sneffles.  All  along  San 
Miguel  Creek  for  nearly  70  miles  are  rich  placer  diggings,  some  of  which  are 
being  operated  on  an  extensive  scale  with  hydraulics.  The  Wheeler  &  Kimball 
claim,  consisting  of  400  acres,  yields  an  average  of  50  cents  to  the  cubic  yard. 
The  "Kansas  City"  claim  has  several  million  yards  of  ground,  estimated  from 
tests  to  average  $1  per  yard.  San  Miguel  gold  is  worth  $17.50  per  ounce. 
About  $75,000  have  recently  been  expended  in  constructing  flumes  and  ditches 
to  cover  claims  along  this  creek,  and  from  this  on  yields  are  expected  to  be 
enormous.  There  is  still  field  for  investment  well  worth  the  attention  of  mining 
capitalists. 

THE  CARBONATES  OF  DOLOEES. 

The  Dolores  country  is  about  70  miles  southwest  of  Ouray,  or  45  miles 
northwest  of  the  new  Denver  &  Rio  Grande  railway  town  of  Durango.  It  is 
rapidly  coming  to  the  front  as  a  carbonate  district,  and  an  expert  goes  so  far  as 
to  say :  "  Rico  will  be  a  second  Leadville,  in  all  that  expression  implies.  Within 
a  radius  of  two  miles  of  Rico  there  are  at  present,  open  and  paying,  two  car- 
bonate mines  for  every  one  which  Leadville  could  boast  of  eighteen  months 
ago.  The  formation  is  the  exact  counterpart  of  that  of  the  Leadville  district — 
the  contact  of  limestone  and  porphyry  being  perfect,  the  limestone  forming  the 
footwall,  and  the  porphyry  the  hanging  walls  of  veins  or  deposits  of  ore  which 
are  capped  in  many  instances  with  iron.  The  veins  or  deposits  vary  in  width 
from  a  few  inches  to  over  20  feet.  The  exact  similarity  of  the  Rico  ores  to- 
those  of  the  Leadville  district  has  been  most  satisfactorily  and  fully  demon- 
strated; all  of  the  various  characters  of  carbonate  ores  having  been  found  in 
abundance,  including  hard  and  soft  sand  and  gray  carbonates.  There  are  at 
present  in  the  camp  at  least  50  paying  carbonate  mines,  as  a  result  of  the  work 
of  discovery  and  development,  covering  a  period  of  a  few  months.  When  I  say 
paying  mines,  I  mean  mines  the  ores  from  which  will  stand  $65  for  transporta- 
tion, $20  for  treatment,  and  leave  a  handsome  margin  of  profit  to  the  producers., 


GUNNISON    ANh    s.\.V    JUAN.  45 

"  With  smelting  works,  cheap  transportation,  and  cheap  fuel,  at  least  100 
properties  will  be  immediately  added  to  the  paying  list.  The  mines  which  will 
thus  be  made  paying  properties  are  similar  to  those  from  which  at  Leadville,  at 
the  present  time,  the  great  bulk  of  her  mineral  production  comes — mines  which 
produce  from  5  to  200  tons  of  ore  per  day,  which  will  run  from  20  to  100  ounces 
in  silver  per  ton.  In  all  these  properties,  unproductive  and  unprofitable  to-day, 
which  are  owned  by  poor  men,  and  which  can  be  bought  for  from  $5,000  to 
$50,000,  there  is  a  golden  opportunity  for  the  capitalists.  Such  an  opportunity 
for  safe  investments,  guaranteeing  immense  profits,  Is  not  presented  by  busi- 
ness enterprises  of  any  kind  in  any  part  of  the  world.  Here  again,  to  illus- 
trate, I  must  hazard  my  prophetical  reputation,  to-wit:  The  $5,000  to  $50,000 
mining  properties  of  to-day  will  be  more  readily  sold  in  13  months'  time  at  prices 
ranging  from  $50,000  to  $5,000,000.  The  Dolores  Carbonate  Camp  has  been 
examined  by  many  of  the  most  eminent  geologists  and  mining  experts  in  this 
country,  and  I  have  yet  to  hear  of  one  who  has  not  given  the  most  flattering  re- 
ports of  its  extensive  wealth  and  resources  in  carbonate  ores.  The  most 
prominent  mines,  as  far  as  yet  opened  and  at  present  worked,  are  the  Grand 
View,  Alma  Mater,  Little  Jim,  Cross,  Hope,  the  Bertha  with  a  12-foot  pay  streak 
running  well  in  gold  as  well  as  high  in  silver,  Pelican,  Yellow  Jacket,  Glasgow 
-with  15  feet  of  pay  ore,  Ethlena,  Gertie,  Democrat,  Edith,  Melvina,  Pigeon  and 
Wabash,  on  Telescope  Mountain  (Nigger  Baby  Hill),  from  half  to  one  mile  and 
a  half  from  Rico;  the  Newman,  Rico  Muldoon,  Black  Demon,  O.  G.  Marston 
and  Little  Annie,  on  Dolores  Mountain ;  the  Puzzle,  Lucky,  Highland  Mary, 
Lady  Elgin,  Little  Susie,  Elgin  Boy,  Little  Carrie  and  St.  Louis,  on  Expectation 
Mountain;  from  all  of  the  above  mines,  mill  runs  from  75  to  1,000  ounces  in 
silver  to  the  ton  have  been  obtained,  while  from  at  least  10  of  these  mill-runs, 
in  lots  from  three  to  20  tons,  have  given  from  250  to  1,000  ounces  in  silver  to 
the  ton." 

THE  LA  PLATA  COUNTET  AND  DUEANGO. 

La  Plata  county  is  in  the  extreme  southwestern  corner  of  Colorado,  and  is 
just  now  attracting  more  attention  than  any  other  portion  of  San  Juan,  because 
it  has  assurance  of  railway  communication  (Denver  &  Rio  Grande)  early  in  the 
summer  of  1881 .  Already  a  wild  stampede  is  setting  in  to  the  new  town  of 
Durango,  near  Animas  City,  at  the  eastern  edge  of  the  county.  New  mines  are 
being  discovered  in  surrounding  mountains,  ranches  taken  up  in  neighboring 
valleys,  and  a  large  smelter  is  being  erected  on  the  new  town  site. 

While  mines  of  silver  and  gold  are  numerous  and  rich,  the  coal  fields  are 
generally  considered  most  important.  The  area  of  coal  land  is  estimated  at 
nearly  1,000  square  miles.  The  La  Plata  coal  bed  has  an  extreme  thickness  of 
50  feet,  and  contains  about  40  feet'of  good  coal,  free  from  slate.  There  are 
other  beds  running  in  thickness  from  10  to  20  feet,  and  altogether  these  are 
among  the  largest  and  best  deposits  of  semi-bituminous  coking  coal  in  the 
world. 

La  Plata  county  bids  fair  to  become  an  agricultural  county  of  no  mean  im- 
portance. There  are  several  streams,  the  Uranos,  the  La  Plata,  the  Animas, 
the  Florida  and  the  Los  Pinos,  in  the  county,  capable  of  irrigating  the  70,000 
acres  of  arable  land  which  it  contains.  The  elevation  is  only  5,000  feet.  The 
climate  admits  of  the  maturing  of  melons,  sugar-cane,  tomatoes  and  fruits, 
and  stock  roams  on  the  ranges  the  year  round  without  shelter  or  prepared 
food.  There  is  room  for  a  large  number  of  farmers. 


4:6  GUNNISON    AND    SAN    JUAN. 

TOWNS  AND  CAMPS. 

Del  Norte,  285  miles  southwest  of  Denver  and  30  miles  from  Alamosa  (on 
the  Denver  &  Eio  Grande  Railway),  is  the  general  supply  point  for  the  mines  of 
Summit  district,  as  well  as  of  San  Luis  Valley,  at  the  southern  edge  of  which 
it  is  located.  Its  altitude  is  7,750  feet,  contains  about  1,000  inhabitants,  and  is 
connected  with  Alamosa  by  daily  stage.  Lake  City,  364  miles  southwest  of 
Denver,  via  Alamosa  and  Del  Norte,  or  285  miles  from  Denver  via  the  Denver, 
South  Park  &  Pacific  Railway  and  Gunnison  City,  is  the  metropolis  of  northern 
San  Juan.  It  contains  some  1,100  inhabitants,  two  weekly  papers,  one  of 
which,  the  Silver  World,  has  a  reputation  throughout  the  country  as  one  of  the 
best  mining  journals  in  Colorado,  and  two  extensive  smelting  establishments. 
Its  altitude  is  8,550  feet.  Ouray,  300  miles  southwest  of  Denver,  via  the  Gun- 
nison City  route,  contains  about  900  inhabitants,  and  supplies  the  Mount 
Sneffies,  San  Miguel  and  adjacent  regions.  Altitude,  7,640  feet.  Silverton,  390 
miles  southwest  of  Denver,  via  the  Denver  &  Rio  Grande  Railway,  is  beautifully 
situated  on  Animas  river,  and  is  the  supply  point  for  all  the  rich  mining  camps 
near  the  head  of  that  stream  described  in  this  article.  Its  population  is  800, 
and  altitude  9,400  feet.  Durango,  it  is  generally  believed,  will  be  the  metropolis 
of  the  San  Juan  country.  Its  population  is  about  2,000,  and  rapidly  increasing* 
Coking  ovens,  smelting  works,  and  a  good  class  of  buildings  are  going  up  It 
is  reached  via  the  Denver  &  Rio  Grande  Railway  (which  will  be  completed  to 
the  town  during  the  summer  of  1881)  and  the  Sanderson  Stage  Line.  It  is  390 
miles  southwest  of  Denver,  and  has  an  altitude  of  6,800  feet.  Rico,  45  miles 
northwest  of  Durango,  as  already  noted,  is  queen  of  the  new  carbonate  fields, 
and  contains  some  1,100  souls.  It  is  best  reached  via  Durango.  All  of  these 
points  are  now  easily  reached  from  the  Missouri  river  via  the  Kansas  Pacific 
Railway  from  Kansas  City  or  Leavenworth,  or  via  the  Union  Pacific  Railway 
from  Omaha. 

AS  TO  THE  FUTURE. 

The  San  Juan  country  will  in  two  years  be  penetrated  from  end  to  end  by 
at  least  two  lines  of  railway.  It  contains  every  element  desired  to  build  up 
several  of  the  richest  mining  communities  in  the  world,  and  has  only  lacked 
this  advance  of  the  iron  horse.  Its  climate,  though  rigorous,  can  not  prevent 
underground  operations  the  year  round.  Its  smelting  facilities  of  fuel,  lime, 
water,  and  all  varieties  and  grades  of  ore,  arc  unexcelled.  To  say  that  some 
of  the  largest  smelting  works  in  the  world  will  now  soon  spring  up  in  the  San 
Juan  mountains,  and  that  they  will  turn  out  millions  of  dollars  where  thousands- 
are  found  now,  is  entirely  reasonable.  That  thousands  of  poor  prospectors 
will  in  this  great  wilderness  yet  "strike  it  rich,"  and  that  thousands  of  capi- 
talists will  by  making  judicious  investments  reap  still  greater  rewards,  is  in 
such  a  country  simply  inevitable.  The  time  will  soon  come  when  Gunnison 
and  San  Juan  will  be  regarded  as  the  bulwarks  of  the  mining  industry  not  only 
of  Colorado,  but  of  the  whole  southwest.  It  now  only  remains  for  us  to  see 
who  will  be  the  fortunate  participants  in  the  work  which  will  attain  this  gratify- 
ing end. 


SYNOPSIS    01    MI.MN<:    GA-W&  47 


SYNOPSIS  OF  MINING  LAWS. 


Only  citl/ens,  and  those  who  have  declared  their  Intuition  to  become  such,  can  legally  locate 

•  lilies. 

All  land  is  mineral  that  is  more  valuahlc  for  mining  than  farming  purposes. 

In  ( '..I. trad.,  the  size  of  lode  claims  is  not  uniform  in  all  counties,  heing  In  the  older  counties 

•  f  (lilpin.  Clear  Creek.  Boulder  and  Summit  1,500  by  150,  and  in  others  1,500  by  300  feet. 

The  location  of  fissure  veins,  to  be  valid,  must  be  upon  the  vein,  and  the  side  line  must  be 
eqiii-ilistaut  from  the  centre  of  the  vein. 

If  at  any  point  along  the  side  lines  the  vein  departs  from  the  surface  boundaries,  the  location 
beyond  such  point  is  defeasible,  if  not  void.  By  the  dip  of  the  vein,  that  is  Its  departure  from  the 
perpendicular  in  its  downward  course,  the  claimant  may  go  outside  of  his  side  lines,  provided  that 
hc  has  the  top  or  apex  of  the  vein  within  its  boundaries. 

The  first  requisite  of  a  valid  mining  claim  is  the  discovery  of  mineral  "  in  place."  and  until 
that  is  done  a  claimant  has  no  security  in  his  possession.  Mineral  in  place  means  where  first  de- 
posited, as  is  distinguished  from  float,  or  such  as  has  been  detached  from  Its  native  place.  The 
latter  can  lie  made  the  basis  of  a  placer  claim  only. 

Discovery  alone  gives  title  for  the  time  allowed  by  law  for  the  completion  of  location  ami 
record,  and  after  location  and  record  have  been  made  the  title  still  relates  back  to  the  time  of 
discovery. 

A  neglect  to  do  the  annual  labor,  as  required  by  law  leaves  a  claim  open  to  relocation.  But 
any  neglect  to  do  the  annual  labor  does  not  work  a  forfeiture  of  the  claim,  unless  after  such  neglect 
and  before  the  original  locator  has  resumed  work,  another  has  located  the  claim  and  after  re-entry 
of  the  first  locator,  the  title  relates  back  to  their  first  location. 

The  law  says  that  not  "  less  than  $100  worth  of  labor  be  performed  or  improvements  made 
during  each  year."  and  the  general  interpretation  has  been  that  the  annual  period  dates  from  the 
time  of  the  location,  but  it  has  been  decided  recently  by  the  Land  Department  that  the  assessment 
work  is  to  be  done  during  the  calender  year,  that  is.  from  January  to  January. 

The  discoverer  must  record  within  20  days  from  the  date  of  the  discovery,  and  his  location 
certificate  must  contain:  (1)  the  name  of  the  vein;  (2)  the  Same  of  the  locator;  (3~)  the  date  of  lo- 
cation ;  (4)  the  number  of  feet  in  length  claimed  on  each  side  of  the  discovery'  shaft;  v.5)  the  number 
of  feet  in  width  claimed  on  each  side;  (6)  the  general  course  of  the  vein,  as  near  as  may  be. 

The  discovery  shaft  must  show  a  well  defined  vein;  a  plain  notice  embracing  the  above  facts 
must  be  posted  at  the  point  of  discovery.  The  surface  boundaries  must  be  marked  by  eight  sub- 
stantial posts,  (besides  discovery)  hewed  on  the  sides  facing  the  location,  and  sunk  in  the  ground 
or  firmly  planted  in  monuments  of  stone,  and  are  arranged  as  shown  in  the  following  diagram : 


Discovery. 
<  > 

Shaft. 


... 


Any  cut  deep  enough  to  disclose  the  vein,  or  a  10-foot  adit  or  trench  along  the  vein  from 
the  point  of  discovery,  would  be  a  legal  discovery  shaft. 

The  discover  has  30  days  from  the  time  of  uncovering  a  vein  to  sink  his  discovery  shaft. 
(Locators  cannot  exercise  too  much  care  in  defining  their  veifis  at  the  outset.) 

In  order  to  hold. a  vein  before  the  patent  issues,  work  must  be  done  or  improvements  made  to 
the  value  of  $100  a  year;  and  within  six  months  from  the  year  within  which  outlay  is  required  to 
be  made,  the  person  who  made  such  outlay,  or  some  person  for  him,  shall  make  and  record  an  affi- 
davit of  the  fact :  ami  the  recorder's  certificate  shall  be  prima facie  evidence  of  the  performance  of 
such  labor  or  the  making  of  such  improvements. 

The  relocation  of  abandoned  claims  shall  be  by  erecting  new  boundaries,  and  by  sinking  a  new 
discovery  shaft,  or  by  sinking  from  the  bottom  of  the  old  shaft  as  if  it  were  a  new  shaft  commenced 
from  the  surface.  (The  pafer  course  is  to  sink  a  new  shaft.) 

When  labor  or  improvements  to  the  amount  of  $600  shall  have  been  performed  or  made  upon 
a  vein,  patent  may  be  applied  for. 


48  SYNOPSIS    OF    MINING    LAWS. 

Notice  of  such  application  must  be  published  for  60  days,  at  the  expiration  of  which  time,  il 
no  adverse  claim  shall  have  been  filed,  it  will  be  assumed  that  the  applicant  is  entitled  to  a  patent 
upon  making  the  necessary  proofs  and  paying  the  receiver  of  the  district  office  the  official  fees  and 
$5  per  acre.  The  preliminaries  of  obtaining  a  patent  are  somewhat  complex,  and  exactness  is  re- 
quired in  detail,  whereof  the  applicant  had  better  secure  the  services  of  an  attorney  who  makes  a 
specialty  of  such  business. 

Placer  mining  claims  may  be  patented  at  $2  50  per  acre,  or  at  that  rate  of  fractional  parts  of  am 
acre,  under  like  circumstances  and  conditions,  and  upon  similar  proceedings,  as  are  provided  for 
vejns ;  but  no  placer  location  can  embrace  more  than  20  acres  for  each  individual  claimant,  or 
more  than  460  acres  in  one  application. 

A  patent  for  a  placer  claim  conveys  any  vein  embraced  which  was  not  known  to  exist  when 
the  patent  was  applied  for;  but  when  a  mineral  vein  is  known  to  be  embraced  in  the  placer  tract  at 
the  time  of  making  application  the  fact  must  be  distinctly  stated,  when  the  patent  will  issue  in- 
cluding such  vein  upon  the  applicant  paying  $5  per  acre  therefor,  including  25  feet  of  surface 
ground  on  each  side  thereof. 

Owners  of  quartz-mills  and  reduction  works,  as  well  as  quartz-mine  claimants,  can  claim  not 
to  exceed  five  acres  of  non-mineral  land  for  a  mill  site,  upon  making  the  required  proofs,  and  pay- 
ing $5  per  acre  therefor. 

Mill  sites  may  be  applied  for  along  with  applications  for  mines  with  which  they  may  be 
connected. 

Water  rights  for  mining  purposes  vest  by  priority  of  possession,  and  all  patents  granted  are 
subject  to  vested  rights. 

No  location  of  a  mining  claim  shall  be  made  until  the  discovery  of  a  vein  or  lode  within  the 
limits  of  the  claim  located. 

The  locators,  so  long  as  they  comply  with  the  laws,  and  State,  Territorial  and  local  regula- 
tions, have  the  exclusive  right  of  possession  and  enjoyment  of  all  the  surface  included  within  the 
lines  of  their  locations,  and  of  all  veins,  lodes  and  ledges  throughout  their  entire  depth,  the  top  or 
apex  of  which  lies  inside  of  such  surface  lines  extended  downward  vertically,  although  such  veins, 
lodes  or  ledges  may  so  far  depart  from  a  perpendicular  in  their  course  downward  as  to  extend  out- 
side the  vertical  side-lines  of  said  surface  locations;  provided  that  their  right  of  possession  to  such 
outside  parts  of  such  veins  or  ledges  shall  be  confined  to  such  portions  thereof  as  lie  between  ver- 
tical planes  drawn  downward  through  the  end-lines  of  their  locations,  so  continued  in  their  own 
direction  that  they  will  intersect  such  exterior  parts  of  said  veins  or  ledges. 

Where  a  vein  or  lode  is  known  to  exist  within  the  boundaries  of  a  placer  claim,  an  application 
for  a  patent,  which  does  not  include  an  application  for  the  vein  or  lode  claim,  is  construed  as  a 
conclusive  declaration  that  the^  claimant  of  the  placer  claim  has  no  right  of  possession  of  the  vein 
or  lode  claim;  but  where  the  existence  of  a  vein  or  lode  in  a  placer  claim  is  not  known,  a  patent  for 
the  latter  includes  all  valuable  mineral  or  ore  deposit  within  the  boundaries  thereof. 

Where  two  or  more  veins  intersect,  priority  of  title  governs,  and  the  prior  location  is  entitled 
to  all  ore  or  mineral  contained  within  the  space  of  intersection. 

Where  a  tunnel  is  run  for  the  development  of  a  vein  or  lode,  or  for  the  discovery  of  mines,  the 
owner  of  such  tunnel  has  the  right  of  possession  of  all  veins  or  lodes  within  3,000  feet  from  the 
face  of  such  tunnel  or  the  line  thereof,  not  previously  known  to  exist  and  discovered  in  the  tunnel, 
to  the  same  extent  as  if  discovered  from  the  surface ;  and  locations,  on  the  line  of  such  a  tunnel,  of 
veins  or  lodes  not  appearing  on  the  surface,  made  by  other  parties  after  the  commencement  of  the 
tunnel,  and  while  the  same  is  being  prosecuted  with  reasonable  diligence,  are  invalid. 

Any  three  miners,  in  a  part  of  the  country  which  has  not  been  districted,  can  form  a  mining 
district,  and  make  such  laws  as  the  circumstances  of  the  mineral  and  the  district  require.  They 
can  enact  that  the  size  of  claims,  located  after  the  formation  of  the  district,  shall  be  less  than  600  by 
1,500  feet,  but  they  cannot  reduce  the  width  to  less  than  25  feet,  nor  can  they  alter  the  size  of 
claims  located  prior  to  the  formation  of  the  district.  When  they  form,  they  place  on  file  in  the 
county  recorder's  office,  a  discription  of  the  territory  intended  to  be  included  in  the  district. 

The  question  as  to  whether  the  same  man  may  take  up  more  than  one  claim  on  the  same  vein 
is  an  unsettled  one,  and  different  views  are  held.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  men  do  take  more  than 
one  claim  on  the  same  lode  and  hold  them.  In  New  Mexico,  Chief  Justice  Prince  has  decided,  im 
the  First  Judicial  District,  which  includes  the  northern  half  of  that  Territory,  that  one  man  cannot 
take  more  than  one  claim  on  the  same  vein;  but  that  he  can  take  one  on  each  new  vein  that  he 
discovers,  and  in  that  way  he  can  have  as  many  claims  as  he  finds  veins.  The  Supreme  Court  of 
the  Territory  has  not  yet  been  asked  to  pass  on  the  question,  and  neither,  of  course,  has  the  Su- 
preme Court  of  the  United  States,  so  that  the  question  is  still  undecided.  In  the  Second  and  Third 
districts  of  New  Mexico,  the  southern  half  of  the  Territory,  the  question  has  never  been  ruled  on, 
and  there  men  take  as  many  extensions  as  they  can  perform  their  assessment  work  on. 


ROUTES  TO  GUOTOT, 


Extracts  from  " N.  Y.  World"  Letter,  Page 39  of   "  Gunnison  and  San  Jaan. 

"Gunnison  is  as  easily  reached  as  was  Leadville  a  year  ago,  and  railroads 
are  approaching  so  rapidly  that  the  travel  of  1881  will  mainly  come  by  rail. 
From  the  Eastern  seaboard  to  the  Missouri  river  in  these  days  of  elaborate 
railway  advertising,  the  route  is  plain,  and  thence  to  Denver  one  cannot  wel 
go  amiss.  If  the  traveler  reaches  the  Misssuri  at  Kansas  City  or  Leaveuvvor 


he  takes  the  old  KANSAS  PACIFIC  LINE;  if  he  comes  by  the  more  northerly 
belt  and  lands  at  OJiaha,  the  UNION  PACIFIC  is  the  open  sesame.  By  either  of 
these  routes  he  comes  from  the  Missouri  river  to  Denver  in  about  thirty-one 
hours,  there  connecting  with  trains  of  either  the  Denver,  South  Park  and 
Pacific,  or  Denver  and  Rio  Grande  railways,  he  journeys  through  some  of  Col- 
orado's grandest  scenery  some  ten  hours  to  those  common  points,  Alpine 
(present  terminus  D.,  S.P.&P.  Railway),  and  Poncha  Springs  (ontheD.&R.  G. 
Railway),  from  where  Concord  coaches  of  the  Sanderson  line  convey  him 
through  to  Gunnison  City  in  ten  hours.  Time  from  either  Kansas  City,  Leaven- 
worth  or  Omaha  to  Gunnison,  about  fifty-one  hours." 

For  additional  particulars  concerning  routes  and  rates  to  Gunnison  and  San 
Juan,  see  pages  6,  28,  39  and  46. 


Binder 
Gaylord  Bros. 


M«Jcers 
»se,  N.  y 
WT.Jttii.ir 


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